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What’s in a drink?

SO cider is made from apple juice, right? Well, if you thought ‘yes’, it might come as something of a shock to learn that many commercial ciders actually contain only 35 per cent juice, the rest being tap water and additives.

Not so for Harefields Craft Cider in Greens Norton near Towcester, which proudly boasts that its ciders are lovingly made with more than 95 per cent of the sweet stuff and now, in news that will be music to cider-lovers’ ears, it’s set to make even more of the fruity tipple.

It’s all thanks to a £6,000 grant from FEAST (Food Enterprise Advisory Support Team), a project part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund aimed at supporting eligible food and drink manufacturers across the SEMLEP area, which has enabled Harefields’ owner Davey Chambers to invest in much-needed bag-in-box packing and pasteurisation machines.

“My late grandparents had lots of apple trees in their garden and couldn’t bear seeing the fruit go to waste so I was always helping them press as a youngster, little knowing that I would one day be making a living from it,” explained Davey.

“After launching the company nearly three years ago, it’s been growing ever since and this grant has meant I can now do all the production in-house and thereby keep total control over the quality of the product.”

So did he have to jump through cider barrel-sized hoops to get it? “Absolutely not,” said Davey. “Indeed, having previously tried to access funding which had forms the size of the Yellow Pages to complete, I’d been rather put off trying that route, yet this process was really straightforward and I was able to crack on with the purchase and get the equipment installed with the minimum of fuss.

“It means that, with a Heritage range out shortly, an expanding customer base and plans to double the pressing this year, I’ll be looking to extend the workforce very soon.

“I reckon, if my grandparents could see me now, they’d be pretty proud of me!”

FEAST, which is worth £7.1 million in total, and which will receive £3.5 million funding from the European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020, was secured by the Food & Drink Forum and is being led by The Mallows Company, with support from Moulton College, the University of Northampton and Central Bedfordshire Council.

With funding available to SMEs for capital project spends between £2,500 and £80,000, some 22 companies across SEMLEP have now received more than £100,000, while many more businesses have also received tailored mentoring and technical support, including expertise on changes to legislation and product shelf life.

For more details, including registering your business for the free project, contact Amanda at The Mallows Company on 01933 664437 or email

Meanwhile for more information about Harefields Craft Cider, visit www.harefields.co.uk or email or call 01327 437229.

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