If there’s one product that brings Somerset immediately to mind it is probably cider, and for Neil Macdonald the growing, pressing and processing of cider apples has been a lifelong passion.
Neil is a second-generation farmer, who grew up on his family’s mixed farm, which included cereals, sheep and cider orchards. After studying at Harper Adams and the RAU in Cirencester, he returned home and set up his first diversification, retailing meat from rare breeds produced and processed on a smallholding in Street.
In the early 2000s, he decided to concentrate on orchards and cider fruit and with a business partner he set up the cider and juice company Orchard Pig.
Neil has three sons, none of whom are currently involved in farming, and his wife Emma founded and runs the Bay Tree Food Company, which produces a range of chutneys and preserves.
A new direction
After the Orchard Pig brand was sold in 2016, Neil chose a new direction.
Rather than building another brand, he moved into what he describes as the cider ‘service industry’ using his skills to offer orchard management, production and packing services.
“What I love is helping others be successful. We don’t own any brands any more, we simply provide service. Effectively we handle the primary production, we do a lot of fermenting, prepping and a significant amount of contract packing,” says Neil.
This is done through several businesses: the 280-acre Orchard Park Farm at Hornblotton, just outside Shepton Mallet; Somerset Cider Solutions which handles contract packing; and The Cider Warehouse, which offers retail services.