Vermont’s Shacksbury has found a way to uniquely position itself in the New England hard cider market by offering its core products now as USDA and Vermont certified organic.
It’s a key that will help in branding and marketing to both current fans and new consumers.
“Overall, there are very few ciders on the shelf that are USDA certified organic so we stand out as a competitive set,” they told Brewer recently. ”The better-for-you consumer is already educated on the benefits of organic products, this certification positions us to be able to capitalize on their existing shopping habits and be an easy ’yes’ in-store.”
Figuring out a proper supply chain was the most challenging part of the process when asked about logistics and switching processes to create organic-certified ciders.
”There are simply far fewer organic apples grown in the world than conventionally grown ones,” they said in an email. ”Adding some chain of custody procedures was relatively easy given we had similar systems in place already.
”The biggest hurdle about our process was totally eliminating sulfites, however, we’ve now been producing in this fashion for several months and have developed a high degree of confidence in our ability to do so.”
READ MORE: Going Organic: Is it Worth the Effort?
The USDA and Vermont Organic certification process is serious business, they said, but the cidery had some fun along the way by creating new looks for the core brands, Dry and Rosé, along with a new brand, Yuzu Ginger.
Yuzu Ginger is a blend of cider, citrus, and spice.
”From spontaneous adventures to unlikely ingredients, we believe things are always better when you embrace the unexpected,” they said of the 6% ABV product.
Made with organic apples, the Classic dry cider is golden in color and balanced in flavor at 5.2% while Rosé (5.5%) is the same cider, made like a rosé wine.
”We set out to pay homage to our friends in the winemaking world with a fun-loving but refined marriage of organic apples and wine grapes,” they said.
Adventure and a love of the great outdoors have always been at the core of what they do at Shacksbury and since the start, they said they have been making complex ciders that are always pushing forward, while never straying far from the natural beauty of its home state of Vermont.
”We care about our ingredients; how they are grown, where they come from, and who harvests them,” they wrote. ”The natural next step in our ongoing commitment to making the best craft cider we can is committing to Organic Certification.”
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