Aspall invests ahead of 300th anniversary
In 14 years’ time the Chevallier family would have been brewing cider at Aspall Hall in Suffolk for 300 years. Jersey-born Clement Benjamin Chevallier, the founder of the firm, moved to the east of England after he inherited the hall from his cousin Temple Chevallier in 1722 and planted apple trees in 1728 when he struggled to find his favourite tipple – cider. Five generations later, in the 1970s, John Chevallier started making cider vinegar. The firm now produces 14,250 litres of cider and 3,250 litres of vinegar a year.
Today, the business is run by his sons Henry and Barry Chevallier Guild – and their ambitions are to have real cause for celebration in 2028. The aim, according to Barry Chevallier Guild, is to invest in increased production capacity, new product development and re-designing the brand to propel it into a category of its own. By using the heritage of the brand, which honours the family’s ancestors, he wants the business to become a category leader.
“There are three categories of cider – premium, mainstream and plastic bottled. But we see four,” claims Chevallier Guild, who aims to differentiate the firm from its competitors. “We would sit in the premium category; the aim is to move gently but surely away from everybody else so we are in a category of one.”
Over the past two years, Aspall has invested £4.3M in a new warehouse and packaging hall to help double its capacity. This has increased production from 50 to 115 bottles a minute and from 30 to 120 kegs/h. Aspall md Des Smith said this is just the tip of the iceberg of what is planned. The business intends to boost kegs to 240/h and bottles to 180 a minute.
Investment (Return to top)
“We are looking to invest £2.8M in the year ahead to automate our packaging lines. To reach our target of 180 bottles a minute we are looking to spend £1M in the back of the factory – putting in automatic keg [handling] and automatic tray packaging systems. We may also be putting in a new vinegar filler as well.”
The firm will also invest £320,000 on five fermentation tanks to improve efficiency by reducing manual work from three to two shifts, Smith says. A second clarity filtration machine will be added to handle the increased capacity and £150,000 will be spent on a stock control system. In addition, a new bag in a box line will be installed and a new laboratory will be built.
“We are looking to move our laboratory so it’s in the centre of the production process,” says Smith. “We are spending £160,000 on that this year. The bag in a box line will go in the kegging building.” Aspall currently outsources packaging of its bag in box mulled cider product to a contractor. “We are bringing this in-house so we will be self-sufficient in that area.”
To meet the increased energy requirements of the additional production facilities, a new steam boiler will be needed. Looking further ahead, £6M will be spent on an apple pressing facility, to be built on a newly re-acquired piece of land at Aspall Hall, Smith adds. The firm will continue to invest in its orchard and has budgeted £250,000 for this.
New products (Return to top)
Along with the infrastructure investments, the firm has developed a number of new product ranges. This month Aspall will launch products inspired by the idiosyncrasies of the Chevallier family. Aspall is the 10th oldest family-owned business in Britain, which it believes gives the brand a point of difference from other ciders on the market, Chevallier Guild says. New labels will be produced which carry stories explaining how the family’s heritage has influenced each product. For example, Perronelle’s Blush pays homage to Peronelle Guild (née Chevallier), a founding member of the Soil Association in 1946 and known for her rosy cheeks and love of foraging. The label will be adorned with her image and the cider includes blackberry liquor.
The new products which will include contemporary twists on the family’s heritage, such as Temple Moon, after a cousin who was an astronomer and professor at Durham University, and Harry Sparrow, a full bodied cider to reflect the rich and diverse styles enjoyed by Aspall’s cider maker for 50 years in the 1920s – are only the start of what is planned, Chevallier Guild claims.
Watch our exclusive video with Smith to learn more about the recent £4.3M investment into a warehouse and packaging hall.
