Blake’s Hard Cider, the Armada-based family-owned and operated craft cidery, announced it is entering into an agreement to acquire the operating assets of Avid Hard Cider Co. based in Bend, Ore., expanding its presence to the west coast. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
As part of the deal, a new entity, Avid Cider Co., will be established by the two organizations. This entity will assume the existing production facility and tap room leases and acquire all equipment, inventory, recipes, distribution agreements, and overall brand properties.
Avid will continue to produce under its respective brands, and serve the local communities, distributors, retail partners, bars, and restaurant.
“Blake’s Hard Cider has been on a rapid growth trajectory, catapulting into the top six U.S. ciders in both sales and volume and we are confident that the timing is right to expand our footprint and compete nationally,” says Andrew Blake, founder and president of Blake’s. “Like us, Avid is family-run and has stayed true to its roots of producing high quality, locally sourced cider. By leveraging both out established distribution channels, we will collectively grow both brands in an authentic way.”
A key driver behind the investment, which is part of Blake’s five-year national growth strategy, is to proactively meet the increasing hard cider demand nationally while responsibly producing and sourcing its product. The entry of Blake’s, which is currently available in 22 states, into the Pacific Northwest’s cider market and culture will now provide access to a production center located where an abundance of apple varieties grow.
Avid Cider is distributed in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Montana, and California. Sam Roberts, co-founder and CEO of Avid, will remain in her position while Dan McCoy, co-founder, will serve in an advisory role focusing on sales and marketing and the growth of the Seven Peaks hard seltzer brand.
“We are excited about the future of Avid Cider Co. and working together with the Blake’s Hard Cider team who will bring a new level of energy and ideas to our company and employees,” says Roberts. “We’ve both built respected brands with many common approaches to quality and integrity in our products and service and we look forward to partnering to achieve our common goals. And I also must thank The Meriwether Group who served as our financial advisor for navigating us through this partnership.”
Visit www.blakeshardcider.com and www.avidcider.com for information on both companies.
