Sweet sensation as cider mill goes home
THE family behind Babycham has saved the Shepton Mallet cider mill in Somerset from potential closure by buying it from drinks giant C&C Group.
Brothers Drinks – founded by siblings Francis, Matthew, Jonathan and Daniel Showering – produces fruitflavoured ciders which are sold at music festivals including Glastonbury. The brothers are the 14th generation in a family involved in the cider business since 1658.
Francis Showering, the brothers’ great-uncle who helped found Brothers Drinks, was the inventor of Babycham, which launched in in 1953. The the pear-based drink became popular in the 1960s and 1970s, although the brand has since been sold off.
These days the family makes pear cider as well as producing and bottling other drinks brands for third-party owners including the premium tonic brand Fever-Tree.
The cider mill in Shepton Mallet was originally built for the Showering family in 1990 but it was later sold.
Last January, C&C – which makes cider brands Magners and Bulmers – announced it intended to switch production from its sites in Shepton Mallet and Borrisoleigh, Ireland, to its plant in Clonmel, Tipperary. It was feared that the Shepton Mallet mill might have to shut down, but it has now been bought by the Showering brothers and it will continue to produce keg ciders such as Blackthorn and Gaymers.
The Shepton Mallet site can press 7,000 tons of apples a day. Matthew Showering said: ‘It’s a huge site and it’s going to transform our business.
‘It’s great to have been able to buy back our grandfather’s factory.’