Record demand sees Thatchers Cider plant orchard the size of 31 football pitches

Thatchers Cider, which in February recorded the highest-ever turnover in its 120-year history, is planting a 50-acre orchard to keep up with demand.

Around 13,000 apple trees will be planted in Somerset this week, creating an orchard roughly the size of 31 football pitches.

The move marks the beginning of a new generation at Thatchers as it looks ahead to its fifth generation of cider makers, with Eleanor Thatcher – daughter of managing director Martin Thatcher – taking her place on the board.

The planting follows three years of regenerative farming to prepare the land for the new trees, ensuring top-quality soil for the tastiest apples.

Martin Thatcher, who took over running the business in 1992 from his father, said: “Great cider begins in the orchard, so making sure the soil is in peak condition is vitally important. It can be up to eight years from taking on the land, to harvesting our first full crop, and then we want it to be a fruitful orchard for decades to come, producing top quality apples that we can craft into delicious ciders.”

The new orchard will also capture around 325 tonnes of CO2 a year, in addition to the thousands of tonnes already sequestered into the soil by Thatchers’ existing 500 acres of orchards at Myrtle Farm, at the foot of the Mendips.

Thatcher said: “We’ve been working in partnership with nature for 120 years, and it is a harmonious balance we strive to protect. Every one of our ciders is made using 100% renewable electricity, including power from the 3,500 solar panels on the farm.

“Nothing is wasted— even the apple pomace leftover from pressing is used for green energy or to feed local cattle, and we’ve installed cutting-edge technology to capture CO2 produced during fermentation and reuse it as bubbles in our cider.

“Our orchards are not only places of cider production, but havens for biodiversity; from the bees that pollinate the trees to the worms that enrich the soil.”

In February, the company announced that sales passed the £200m mark for the first time in its 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.

The positive results came 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.