Traditional taste with contemporary design

Sheppy's cider range has been given a fresh modern look. Sheppy's has been making cider for almost 200 years and the brand and the bottles needed to reflect this while appealing to the next generation of cider drinkers. The bottles also needed to stand out better on the retail shelves among the growing number of cider brands hitting the market.

Sheppy's is “the real thing” David Sheppy, Sheppy's managing director and head cider maker says, “and the bottles need to shout this”.

This was a challenging task for London design agency Hurricane. The result was a tweak to the main Sheppy's brand and a fresh look for the bottle labels. The new branding brings the entire range together as a family with each label retaining the familiar and trusted Sheppy's logo. Single variety products now have labels featuring a distinctive apple logo in differing colours while the blended varieties feature a scenic image - all with a nod to the tradition of cider-making from orchard to bottle.

Among those to undergo the transformation are Sheppy's multi award winning Oak Matured Vintage, Great Taste award winning Dabinett Apple, Sheppy's popular Taylor's Gold as well as the latest addition to the range - Mulled Cider. The distinctive new branding will be officially launched at the Northern Restaurant and Bar trade show in Manchester 17-18 March.

David Sheppy adds: "We felt the Sheppy's brand was in need of refreshing and streamlining. We have added to the range over the years and new labels had been created with each addition causing a lack of continuity. To bring the Sheppy's collection together as a family - and to appeal to the younger market - we wanted a new look. The fresh branding is contemporary yet still retains our traditional roots and our well established logo. Sheppy's now has a greater shelf presence in both the retail and bar categories."

Sheppy's have been crafting cider since 1816 and since 1917 at Three Bridges Farm in Somerset. Sheppy’s Cider is distributed throughout the UK on- and off-trade, US, China, Singapore and Malaysia and Germany, and is just about to get a first order for Japan. RRP £2.20 - £2.50 per 500ml bottle. 

9 March 2015 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor