New cider range offers year round appeal

Norcotts is a new range of West Country Ciders developed to offer retailers the opportunity of year round cider sales.

The Norcotts Cider range is the idea of cider expert Chris Norcott who has been working in the commercial cider industry for the past 10 years.  Chris decided to invest his hard earned skill and knowledge into his own range and earlier this year, the Norcotts Cider range was born.  
 
Chris’s strategy has been to design a range that will help customers build cider consumption all year round instead of solely during the traditional summer period.  The development of fruit flavours has therefore been a major consideration for the range.  Chris comments:  “As you would expect, the range incorporates a traditional apple and pear cider.  These have their own unique recipes and are made by local West Country craftsmen.  But additionally, I have developed three fruit flavours which have a distinctly seasonal focus – Elderflower, Raspberry & Orange and Cranberry.’
 
Norcotts Cider aims to capitalise on the buoyant fruit cider sector of the overall cider market – an area that it is experiencing significant growth.  “But a good fruit cider is not easy to achieve” continues Chris, “many of the mass produced fruit ciders already out there are just too overpowering.  The recipes I have created have a punchy, fruity flavour that you can really taste but without the cloying sweetness.”

The ciders are made from local Somerset apples and contract packed at a Somerset cider company.
 
Chris is focussing initially on distribution in the south west of England but hopes to take his brand to national levels next year.  
 
Norcotts Ciders are bottled in 500ml dark glass and feature eye catching, circular fluorescent labels designed to create maximum on-shelf impact.

Chris and his wife, founders of the Norcotts Cider range, conceived the design concepts. These were then given to an independent label designer Anthony Cooper who transformed the concepts into the range labels.  The idea behind the concept  was to develop a label that would sit well on a traditional style bottle while creating maximum shelf impact.  Future ideas will include colour-coded caps, and a neck label is in development for introduction this year.

Norcotts Original and Pear are 4.5% ABV and the three fruit flavours are 4% ABV.  All are free from artificial flavours and colours.

Norcotts Ciders are also available in a three-pack carry case, ideal for the key gifting occasions.   

About the founder

Chris Norcott has been in the cider industry for nine years – five years with Gaymers  and four years at Aston Manor (previously Devon Cider Company).  Within the role at Aston Manor Chris looked after its multiple grocers accounts and bought on contracts, such as the Tesco own label ciders.  Chris also managed to gain over 25 national multiple grocer listings (branded an own label) in the UK and also account managed Sainsbury’s, ASDA, Morrisons, ALDI, Lidl, Iceland & Waitrose. At Gaymers Chris looked after the Matthew Clark account (On Trade) in the South of England.  While working for Gaymers/Aston Manor Chris developed a real passion for cider and decided that he would like to bring out his own range and to develop a South West brand with national appeal.  In 2013 Chris would like to extend the brand into national distribution through previous contacts gained in previous roles

11 March 2013 - Felicity Murray