Michigan-based Blake’s Hard Cider will acquire all the assets of Bend, Oregon-based Avid Cider Co., the companies announced Tuesday.
The deal is expected to close by the end of April. Financial details were not disclosed.
Through the transaction, a new entity called Avid Cider Co., LLC, will be created that will assume the leases for Avid’s production facility and taproom “and acquire all equipment, inventory, recipes, distribution agreements and overall brand properties,” according to a press release.
“Blake’s Hard Cider has been on a rapid growth trajectory, catapulting into the top six U.S. ciders in both sales and volume and we are confident that the timing is right to expand our footprint and compete nationally,” Andrew Blake, Blake’s founder and president, said in the release. “Like us, Avid is family-run and has stayed true to its roots of producing high quality, locally sourced cider. By leveraging both our established distribution channels, we will collectively grow both brands in an authentic way.
“Our shared vision with Avid’s founders is to increase their presence on the West Coast and Blake’s Hard Cider nationwide,” he continued.
Avid co-founder and CEO Sam Roberts will retain her position after the deal closes. Co-founder and owner Dan McCoy will transition to an advisory role, “focusing on sales and marketing,” as well growth plans for Avid’s hard seltzer brand Seven Peaks, which launched in 2019.
A “key driver behind the investment” is to “proactively meet the increasing hard cider demand nationally while responsibly producing and sourcing its products,” which is part of Blake’s “five-year national growth strategy,” according to the release. Blake’s cider is available in 22 states – recently expanding into Nevada and Southern California – and plans to distribute in 28 states by the end of 2022. Avid products are distributed in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Montana and California.
While Blake’s noted that the deal “will now provide access to a production center located where an abundance of apple varieties grow,” a spokesperson for the company told Brewbound that Blake’s products will not be produced at Avid facilities “at this time.”
“Our focus will be solely on producing more Avid Cider products and investing in Avid Cider’s production to bring more great craft cider to the Pacific Northwest,” the spokesperson added.
“We are excited about the future of Avid Cider Co. and working together with the Blake’s Hard Cider team who will bring a new level of energy and ideas to our company and employees,” Roberts said in the release. “We’ve both built respected brands with many common approaches to quality and integrity in our products and service and we look forward to partnering to achieve our common goals.”