| Description |
The
Gaymer Cider Company is owned by Constellation
Europe, part of Constellation Brands. Constellation
Europe was formed in 2004 when Matthew Clark
PLC, integrated with Constellation Wines Europe
Ltd.; Gaymer Cider Company was formed shortly
after that to market the company's ciders.
The Gaymer Cider Company's name was taken
from Gaymer's Olde English cyder, a brand
of cider first produced commercially in 1770
by William Gaymer and owned by Matthew Clark
PLC from the mid 1990s.
Various
images of Gaymer's Shepton Mallet factory
at the Somerset
Strategic Partnership website. |
| Ciders |
The
Gaymer Cider Company is the second largest
cider maker in the world, producing most of
its ciders in its Shepton Mallet plant. Gaymer
Cider Company is the second largest cider
maker in the UK and indeed the world. The
portfolio of brands include many of the major
brands. Blackthorn Cider
is the No. 2 cider brand, and the original
keg cider. Other major brands include Olde
English and Diamond
White. It has recently launched
new brands into the cider market including
Gaymers Original Cider and
Gaymer's Orchard Reserve.
There is also a range of different ciders
to accommodate the breadth of cider styles
and the regional preferences that exist. These
brands include Addlestones,
K, Special
Vat and Natch.
It
must be noted that some of Gaymer Ciders are
mass-produced using non-traditional methods
- apple concentrate, sugar and sweeteners
fermented with a controlled yeast strain,
rather than using the whole pressed apples
and as such can not be considered 'real cider'.
In saying that the cider operation of Gaymer
Cider Company has seen very significant investment.
In the four years to 2000, in excess of £35m
was invested in the Cider Mill at Shepton
Mallet in Somerset to make it the most modern,
efficient and flexible cider production facility
in the world. There has also been major investment
in the planting of 2,000 acres of new orchards
(or some 750,000 new trees) to secure the
English apples to make the ciders. The cost
of the planting scheme was in excess of £3m
and means that the cider mill now regularly
presses in excess of 30,000 tonnes of fruit
each season. The focus of Gaymer Cider Company
matches that of the wider business –
excellent and consistent product quality across
a range of brands matching consumer preferences
and the occasions when they enjoy cider. |
