Sandford Orchards has hired Richard Smith to be its new director of sales.
Smith, who has previously worked for breweries including Sharp’s and Dartmoor, would play a crucial role in delivering “ongoing ambitious growth plans” at the Devon-based cider company, according to owner and founder Barny Butterfield.
“Whilst others in our sector have seen a continual decline in sales, we are consistently outperforming the market, and Richard’s appointment is part of our plan to keep growing,” Butterfield said.
Smith said he was “excited to be joining such a dynamic and well-respected business”.
He added Sandford Orchards had “continued to demonstrate success during some of the toughest times for our industry” and said he would be looking to help the cidermaker “continue to reach even greater heights”.
Butterfield said Sandford Orchards was growing both domestically and in export, despite a challenging environment for cider. Its ciders are stocked in Morrisons stores.
Retail sales of cider have edged up 1.5% to £1.13bn but volumes are down by 7.3% [NIQ 52 w/e 20 January]. Half of the top 10 brands are in both value and volume decline.
Last month, Sandford Orchards teamed up with scientists from the University of Bristol to identify and preserve ancient apple varieties in its orchards in Devon and beyond.
The cidermaker said the research would help it locate threatened cider apple trees to be propagated for future cider making.
It came after Sandford Orchards tendered for and won a competitive bid to receive a grant from Defra to expand upon an initial small trial.
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