Sandford Orchards Plans for Continued Growth as It Outperforms the Buoyant Craft Cider Category

The craft cider category has seen strong growth over the last 12 months and Devon-based Sandford Orchards has excelled amongst its peers with record sales and new retail listings. After an unprecedented year, Sandford Orchards has just launched a new ‘Cider Done Right’ multimedia campaign to bring its much loved cider to an even wider audience.

Barny Butterfield, founder of Sandford Orchards, comments: “Despite wider economic uncertainty, it has been heartening to see that cider is having a moment. In particular, consumers are seeking out craft cider and this has meant that in 2025 more pints of our authentic, award-winning cider were consumed than ever before. In the last 12 months we’ve gained listings in Tesco and Sainsbury’s, to add to our presence in John Lewis, Morrisons, Co-op and Spar and we’ve welcomed lots of new fans. We’re delighted to be outperforming a buoyant category but we are never ones to rest on our laurels, hence our new campaign which launches in May and runs right through the summer.”

Sandford Orchards ran their first ever ATL campaign last year. It was so successful that they are repeating the exercise this year but extending it to other regions to reflect their growing off trade distribution. It will feature Sandford Orchards’ iconic Devon Red, its hazy Devon Mist and its rising star, Red Zero, the non-alcoholic version of Devon Red that has been named best in the world at the World Alcohol Free Awards and the World Cider Awards. It will feature on billboards and buses throughout Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Bristol and Bath. There will also be a competition as part of the campaign, to let people experience ‘cider done right’ for themselves, with hundreds of cases of Devon Red and Red Zero up for grabs and a Red Equipment cooler bag filled with cider.

Barny adds: “Our campaign headline, ‘Cider Done Right’ reflects our natural, low impact method of creating outstanding cider. Our cider is pressed from locally grown cider apples and fermented and matured from their fresh, not concentrated, juice. We believe that it is second to none and we’ve got the awards and reviews to prove it. We just want to bring the joy of this fabulous cider to as many people as possible and we’re hoping that our new campaign will help us do just that.”

Founded in 2002, independent, family-owned Sandford Orchards is based in Crediton, Mid Devon in the oldest working cider mill in the UK. Combining tradition and innovation, Sandford Orchards produces an award-winning range of core session, traditional, fine and fruit ciders.

For further information on Sandford Orchards please visit www.sandfordorchards.co.uk, follow Sandford Orchards on X, Facebook and Instagram.

Editor's Notes

Images available here.

Sandford Orchards takes a low impact approach to producing cider:

• Their orchards act as carbon sinks, promote soil health and support biodiversity

• Their apples are all grown in a 20 mile radius of the cider works

• Their by-products are bio-converted locally into natural green gas and CO2, which is used to carbonate their ciders

• They use locally coppiced regenerating woodlands for fuel for heating water and have installed solar panels which produce 25% of their required electricity

• They are working towards having all their company vehicles charged by renewable power

• They use natural lighting, rainwater harvested from their roofs and insulation to reduce their energy requirements

• Their cider is produced using filtration and cold sterilisation and without the need for boiling ingredients

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