Italian deal for Northern Ireland's Mac Ivors Cider

Mac Ivors Cider in Northern Ireland has signed a new distribution deal in Rome for the Italian marketplace.

Greg MacNeice, managing director of the family run business which has been growing apples at Ardress in county Armagh, Northern Ireland's 'Orchard Country' since 1885, says the new deal will "greatly expand our export sales in Europe".

"The distribution deal is a very encouraging development for a County Armagh product securing its place in the international marketplace. The interest in Mac Ivors Traditional Dry and Medium Ciders is increasing because Europe is fast becoming a market for premium Irish ciders.

"Mac Ivors is committed to crafting high quality and great tasting cider and demand is showing a new generation of consumers in Europe and America who want to drink ciders which are of high quality and full of heritage.

"All of our ciders, including our latest cider, Plum and Ginger, are produced here at our orchards which date back to 1855. We currently employ six full time staff at our orchards at Ardress and we are hopeful the distributor deal will dramatically increase our sales in Europe which will lead to further job creation here in County Armagh."

Mac Ivors already supplies cider into the Danish market as well as Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

The family owned and managed company has won a series of national and international awards for its products including a gold medal and overall Champion Cider at the 2015 International Brewing Awards. In the past four years, Mac Ivors Cider Co has produced 420,000 litres which is just shy of one million bottles.

"We are very excited to be bringing the taste of Ireland's orchard county to Irish bars and to bars which specialise in craft beers, ciders and spirits. We firmly believe Mac Ivors will tantalise the taste buds of this new generation of cider drinkers, not only here in Ireland, north and south, but across Europe and in America."