Bulmers (Republic of Ireland)
Encyclopedia
Cider
Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...
produced in County Tipperary
County Tipperary
County Tipperary is a county of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster and is named after the town of Tipperary. The area of the county does not have a single local authority; local government is split between two authorities. In North Tipperary, part of the Mid-West Region, local...
, in Ireland, by the C&C Group. The Magners product range includes the cider varieties: Magners Original, Magners Light, Magners Pear and Magners Berry. The cider was originally produced as "Bulmers" and continues to be sold under that name in Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, although the product is no longer owned by H. P. Bulmer
H. P. Bulmer
H.P. Bulmer is a brewing company founded in 1887 in Hereford, England. The founder was Percy Bulmer, the twenty-year-old son of the local rector at Credenhill...
. Magners is a former sponsor of the Celtic League
Celtic League (rugby union)
The Celtic League is an annual rugby union competition involving professional sides from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
rugby
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
competition.
History
Commercial cider production was started in ClonmelClonmel
Clonmel is the county town of South Tipperary in Ireland. It is the largest town in the county. While the borough had a population of 15,482 in 2006, another 17,008 people were in the rural hinterland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked both...
, South Tipperary in 1935, by local man William Magner. Magner bought the orchard from a Mr Phelan from Clonmel. Magner quickly established a successful cider factory in Dowds Lane, Clonmel. In 1937 English cider-makers H. P. Bulmer
H. P. Bulmer
H.P. Bulmer is a brewing company founded in 1887 in Hereford, England. The founder was Percy Bulmer, the twenty-year-old son of the local rector at Credenhill...
purchased a 50% share in the business, using their expertise to greatly increase production. After the war in 1946, Bulmers purchased the remaining 50%, changing the name to Bulmers Ltd Clonmel. H.P. Bulmer maintained international rights to the Bulmers trade mark, so that any exports were carried out via the parent company rather than directly exported from Ireland.
In the 1960s H. P. Bulmer produced a "Champagne perry"
Perry
Perry is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears. Perry has been common for centuries in Britain, particularly in the Three Counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and in parts of south Wales; and France, especially Normandy and Anjou.In more recent years, commercial...
product in direct competition with Babycham
Babycham
Babycham is the trade name of a light, sparkling perry invented by Francis Edwin Showering , a brewer in Shepton Mallet in Somerset, England; the name is now owned by Constellation Europe Limited. Launched in the United Kingdom in 1953, the drink was marketed with pioneering television...
, owned by Showerings Ltd of Shepton Mallet
Shepton Mallet
Shepton Mallet is a small rural town and civil parish in the Mendip district of Somerset in South West England. Situated approximately south of Bristol and east of Wells, the town is estimated to have a population of 9,700. It contains the administrative headquarters of Mendip District Council...
. Showerings challenged this in court, and H.P. Bulmer lost the case. In 1964 they were forced to sell Bulmers Clonmel to Guinness and Allied Breweries, parent company of Showerings. The company name was changed to Showerings (Ireland) Ltd.
Soon after, the company moved its main processing operations to a new complex at Annerville, five kilometres east of Clonmel, which was opened in 1965 by the then Taoiseach
Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government or prime minister of Ireland. The Taoiseach is appointed by the President upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas , and must, in order to remain in office, retain the support of a majority in the Dáil.The current Taoiseach is...
, Seán Lemass
Seán Lemass
Seán Francis Lemass was one of the most prominent Irish politicians of the 20th century. He served as Taoiseach from 1959 until 1966....
. Today the Bulmers/Magners arm of C&C Group plc employs more than 470 people and is a substantial part of the economic infrastructure of Clonmel. Magners is not the same as Bulmers; it is owned by C&C, one of Ireland's biggest drinks companies.
The company also once produced Cidona
Cidona
Cidona is an apple-based soft drink that has been on sale since 1955. It is quite popular in Ireland and has mild sales in the United Kingdom....
, a popular soft drink in Ireland which along with all of the company's other soft drinks was sold to Britvic in 2007.
The Magners brand
The success of Bulmers cider in Ireland led to the development of the Magners brand to market the company's cider outside of Ireland. Since H. P. Bulmer retained the right to market their original English Bulmers worldwide, the C&C Group needed a new name under which to market their international product. The concept was originally developed by Stuart Wootten, who argued that the international growth of Irish pubs provided a natural market for a drink such as Irish cider.Irish Bulmers cider and Magners have the same label and are identical products, except for the name. The ciders are made from 17 varieties of apples, fermented and matured for up to two years. It is available in 330 ml, pint
Pint
The pint is a unit of volume or capacity that was once used across much of Europe with values varying from state to state from less than half a litre to over one litre. Within continental Europe, the pint was replaced with the metric system during the nineteenth century...
, litre and 750 ml bottles and 500 ml cans, and is served over ice. It is also available in most Irish bars on draught and Magners is available in some bars on draught in Scotland. Initially only available in Spain, Northern Ireland and Scotland, the brand saw its popularity increase significantly in recent years and is now available across the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and the United States.
In early 2007, Magners Light, which is a low calorie version of the cider, was released. In March 2009, a new perry
Perry
Perry is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears. Perry has been common for centuries in Britain, particularly in the Three Counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, and in parts of south Wales; and France, especially Normandy and Anjou.In more recent years, commercial...
(marketed as "Pear Cider") called Magners Pear was launched and in February 2010, Magners Berry was launched. The Berry variety is a blend of 17 varieties of apple, similar to Bulmers Original, fused with blackcurrants, raspberries and strawberries with an ABV of 4.5%. It is available in pint and "long neck" bottle in the licensed trade, and 500ml cans in grocery.
The past 2 years has seen Magners release a variety of new products onto the market. Magners Golden Draught was released in 2010 which is a traditional "old style" crisp cider available purely on tap in the on trade market and 2011 with 3 special flavours consisting of Spiced Apple & Honey, Pear & Ginger, and Spiced Apple & Rhubarb available in supermarkets and bars.
Marketing
Typically, Magners is advertised as being poured over ice. Drinking cider with ice mirrors the move towards chilled and "extra-cold" beers. Magners' success has led the UK's cider market-leader Scottish & NewcastleScottish & Newcastle
Scottish & Newcastle plc was a "long alcoholic drinks" company with positions in 15 countries, including UK, France and Russia. It was headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. In the last 20 years, S&N expanded significantly from its home base to become an international business with beer...
to introduce 'Sirrus', a version of its Strongbow Cider
Strongbow Cider
Strongbow is a brand of dry cider manufactured in England by H.P. Bulmer. Popular since it was launched in 1962, it is the best selling cider in the world, and its sales account for more than 20% of all the cider sold in the UK...
produced specifically to be poured over ice. In 2006 they also relaunched Bulmers Original in the UK, a premium packaged cider.
The Magners brand is the title sponsor of rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
's Celtic League
Celtic League (rugby union)
The Celtic League is an annual rugby union competition involving professional sides from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
featuring the top teams from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Magners sponsored the 2007 Brighton Festival Fringe
Brighton Festival Fringe
The Brighton Festival Fringe is an open access arts festival held annually in Brighton, England. It is the largest annual arts festival in England.- Introduction :...
. From 2003–2005 Magners sponsored the Scottish football team Dundee FC. The Magners brand was also one of the main sponsors of the 2009 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and is the main sponsor of the Glasgow International Comedy Festival
Glasgow International Comedy Festival
Glasgow International Comedy Festival is a comedy festival in Glasgow, Scotland.The comedy festival started in 2002 and is held annually in March....
. This has also extended to Singapore, where they sponsored the King's and Queen of Comedy Asia in 2010 and the Comedy Club Series.