You could easily make the case that the United States is home to some of the greatest breweries and beer in the entire world. I know, how typical for a fellow American to think that the U.S. is the best at something, but hear me out. Sure the United States have brands like Budweiser and Miller, but it is the craft breweries that truly define the scene. The United States has arguably the largest craft brewery scene in the entire world; breweries that are owned and operated by people who truly care to deliver a superior tasting product. This growing scene also brought forth a new type of beverage to the United States: hard cider. It’s not really beer and it’s not really cider, however it does taste really good. The company that could be attributed to the popularization of hard cider in America would easily be Vermont Hard Cider. Lead by president and CEO Bret Williams, this small brewery quickly grew from a local business into a worldwide sensation. Today the company has been purchased by the Irish company known as C&C Group for $305 million dollars, which isn’t too bad considering their humble beginnings.
Vermont Hard Cider first formed back in 1990 as a small company in remote town of Proctorsville, Vermont that operated out of a garage. They initially operated as an apple wine distiller, a craft that isn’t often pursued by many alcohol companies. Vermont Hard Cider saw the growing trend of craft beer in America, but they wanted to offer something a bit different. Hard cider wasn’t anything new, however it had largely been forgotten by distilleries in the United States for many years. Wanting to create an authentic, American cider the company tirelessly began working to perfect the beverage. After much experimentation, they finally came up with their final product and called it “Woodchuck”. If you know anything about beer/cider, Woodchuck is basically the Coca-Cola of their industry. It was Vermont Hard Cider who popularized this drink, pushing many other craft breweries, micro distilleries, and leading brands to create their own version of hard cider. In 1996, owner Joseph Cerniglia hired Bret Williams as the companies first salesmen. In 2003, Williams would scrounge some funds together and purchased the company for $2.3 million, a purchase that nearly bankrupted the man.
The company would go on to dominate the hard cider scene in the United States. In 2011 Woodchuck sold over 2.2 million cases which accounted for 44% of the hard cider market share in the United States. Sales were strong and their cider was flying off the shelves everywhere in the United States, and the company had absolutely no debt; they had all the attributes of a successful company. Williams had no intention of changing anything about the company, but then in 2012 an unsolicited offer from the C&C Group came in. Williams wasn’t even looking at selling the company, however when someone offers you $305 million dollars things tend to change. Vermont Hard Cider didn’t even seek out any other offers, and ended up selling the company. But don’t worry, not much has changed. As per the arrangement of the deal, Vermont Hard Cider would operate as a standalone subsidiary of the C&C Group. Since then, the company has opened a few new distilleries and has created many jobs as they continue to expand and thrive. They’re still the largest player in the hard cider scene, and their beverages are served at countless bars across the nation and they have expanded into markets across the world. For anyone, a $2.3 million dollar investment that turns into a $305 million dollar investment is extremely good.
So the success of Vermont Hard Cider can largely be attributed to the company dominating the scene. They saw that there was an interest in American hard cider and quickly moved to create one. The combination of their expertise, a great product, and a great management team helped them to become extremely successful. Prior to Woodchuck there weren’t really any hard ciders in the mainstream. Now, it seems like almost every major brewery is attempting to create their own hard cider. Vermont Hard Cider was and still is an industry leader, and things tend to be pretty good when you are the dominating force in your companies product category.
Photo from middleburycampus.com
