Cider Australia held its Annual General Meeting in Batlow this week, elected its executive committee and looking forward to an export boom thanks to the Australian Government’s $500,000 investment in the craft cider industry.
Sam Reid, co-owner of Tasmania’s Willie Smith’s Organic Apple Cider was returned for the fifth year as president of Cider Australia and welcomed the investment highlighting what it could mean for Australia’s craft cider industry.
“The Australian Government’s $500,000 investment in the Australian Craft Cider industry under the Export and Regional Wine Support Package is bringing the industry together and helping us to define what makes us unique”, said Reid.
‘Thanks to the Package, we have a great opportunity to build a strong brand proposition that’s unique to Australia and meaningful in chosen markets.
‘The aim of the funding is to build a coherent brand proposition and go-to-market strategy that reflects the quality of ciders produced and marketed in Australia.
‘Already our work with Wine Australia has given us access to data and learnings on cider markets around the globe.”
Wine Australia representatives and brand strategist Guy Taylor, who has been engaged by Wine Australia and Cider Australia to build a brand proposition for Australian Craft Cider, spoke about the Package and the projects that will help competitively differentiate the sector in international markets.
“The brand proposition and go-to-market strategy being developed as part of this investment will help Craft Cider producers to enter export markets in a unified fashion, increasing exports and achieving better results”, Reid added.
Cider Australia is also developing an industry-sponsored ‘trust mark’ to enable consumers to identify ciders made with 100 per cent Australian grown fruit, in a move similar to the Independence Seal recently launched by the Independent Brewers Association. The association is also working on an R&D agenda that engages researchers across Australia on projects that deliver long term sustainable growth in the Australian cider industry.
“With so much happening in cider the industry is growing up very fast, and we are more than ready for the challenge”, said Reid.
Cider Australia’s 2018 Executive Committee:
- President – Sam Reid, Willie Smith’s Organic Cider (TAS)
- Vice President – Warwick Billings, LOBO Cider (SA)
- Vice President – Nyall Condon, Flying Brick Cider Co (VIC)
- Treasurer – Shane McLaughlin, Hillbilly Cider (NSW)
- Secretary – Gus Kelly, Kelly Brothers Cider Co (VIC)
- Category Development – Ben Clifton, Beechworth Cider (VIC)
- Digital – Mark Ellis (VIC)