MillerCoors’ Tenth And Blake Unit Enters Cider Segment With Acquisition Of Crispin

Tenth and Blake, the craft and import unit of MillerCoors, has entered the small but fast-rising U.S. cider category, acquiring Minnesota’s Crispin Cider Company for an undisclosed sum. Crispin, which was only founded in 2008, claims to have grown by 200% last year to become the third-largest cider marketer in the U.S., after Vermont Hard Cider Co. and Ireland’s C&C Group. A Tenth and Blake spokesperson told Shanken News Daily that Crispin had sales of around 25,000 barrels, or 344,000 (2.25-gallon) cases, in 2011.

Crispin has differentiated itself by focusing on drier ciders. Its portfolio includes its Crispin apple-based brand, which has Original, Light and Brut variants, as well as unfiltered “Artisanal Reserves” including Honey Crisp, Lansdowne, The Saint and Cho-tokkyu and pear ciders under the Fox Barrel brand. Crispin also imports a classic English dry cider, Crispin Browns Lane. The company will remain an independent operating unit within Tenth and Blake and retain its Colfax, California production plant.

Tenth and Blake’s deal for Crispin comes about three months after C&C Group purchased 700,000-case Hornsby’s cider from E&J Gallo for $23 million. The Hornsby’s acquisition complemented C&C’s Magners brand, which rose 25% to 580,000 (2.25-gallon) cases last year, according to Impact Databank. Vermont Hard Cider Co. remains the category leader at nearly 3 million cases between its domestic Woodchuck and imported Strongbow brands.

With the cider category rising above 5 million cases for the first time ever last year and growing at around 25% annually, beer marketers have begun to take notice. After a successful test run, Boston Beer began rolling out its Angry Orchard cider brand to wider markets last fall.

Tagged : beer, cider, MillerCoors, Tenth & Blake

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