Thatchers Cider raises a glass to passing £200m mark for first time in 120-year history

Sales at Somerset cider maker Thatchers have passed the £200m mark for the first time in the company’s 120-year history.

Thatchers posted sales of £203.9m for the 12 months to the end of August while turnover stood at £175.2m at the end of its prior financial year – figures which reveal the company has more than doubled its sales since it posted a turnover of £99.2m in 2018.

Pre-tax profit rose from £15.6m to £15.8m.

A statement from Thatchers said: “The cost-of-living crisis has continued to impact consumers and an ongoing trend towards premiumisation has seen budget brands decline, wile quality, trusted brands like Thatchers are growing in value and volume, with Thatchers outperforming the category every quarter.

“This success has not fully insulated the company from the impact of the recent economic challenges.

“Like many companies, Thatchers has ben affected by inflationary cost pressures such as rising raw material costs, increasing wage bills and additional taxes.

“This has led to significantly reduced margins, however, mindful of the cost-of-living crisis, Thatchers has worked hard to limit the impact on customers, and where possible absorbed a significant proportion of those costs.

“Additionally, the predicted increase in cider sales due with the ‘summer of sort’ was offset by poor weather conditions, with both on and off trade markets feeling the impact.

“The cider market saw a lot of change this year, with some producers moving products into the lower ABV [alcohol by volume] tier to maximise on the change in duty, and others running aggressive promotional pricing campaigns.

“Thatchers took the decision to simply remain focussed on producing great quality cider.”

The positive results come just weeks after the company won in the Court of Appeal in the much-reported trade mark infringement case against supermarket giant Aldi.

Thatchers, represented by Stephens Scown, brought the claim against an Aldi product that appeared on Aldi’s shelves almost two years after Thatchers had gained significant market success with its own Cloudy Lemon Cider.

Following an appeal hearing presided over by Lord Justice Arnold, the Court of Appeal overturned an earlier ruling by the High Court and held that Aldi took unfair advantage of the Thatcher’s trade mark.

Three Court of Appeal judges – Lord Justice Arnold, Lord Justice Phillips and Lady Justice Falk – agreed on the verdict.