Seattle, Washington-based Schilling Cider is deepening its presence in Colorado and will transition to the Molson Coors distribution network in the state beginning February 1.
“Colorado is an amazing craft market, and as the best-selling craft cider in the state, this new network will allow us to continue growing and make our ciders more accessible to fans,” founder and CEO Colin Schilling said in a press release. “Our companies are aligned with a data-driven mindset and a passion for delivering value to our retailers and customers.”
Schilling previously distributed in the Centennial State through Crooked Stave Artisans (CSA), which covers mainly the western and central counties in the state.
“They are a great house that did a lot to help build our brand,” Schilling told Brewbound. “We simply need more reach at this point.”
He also noted Schilling’s existing relationships with Molson Coors distributors and said Schilling and the network “work well” together.
The new distribution network includes Coors Distributing Company, KEG1 Colorado, B&K Distributing, A&L Coors, High Country Beverage and Mountain Beverage. Together, the Molson Coors network covers all 64 counties in the state, according to the release.
The distribution move will help Schilling “expand its regional footprint significantly” and build on its “incredible momentum across the West,” Schilling said in the release.
Schilling already has a strong presence in Colorado as the No. 1 craft hard cider brand family in multi-outlet plus convenience channels in the state, according to the release, citing off-premise data from market research firm IRI. Schilling also accounts for three of the top five performing hard cider 6-packs in IRI-tracked channels in the last 52 weeks, ending January 1: Excelsior Imperial Apple, Excelsior Mango and London Dry.
In Colorado liquor stores, Schilling increased dollar sales +51.09% in 2022, through January 1, 2023. The company is the No. 2 overall cider brand family and the No. 1 cider 6-pack in the channel.
The move follows a year of distribution moves and depth expansion by the hard cider brand, including partnering with Reyes Beer Division in California. The company – which was named Brewbound’s Beyond Beer Company of the Year at the Brewbound Live business conference in December – plans to continue to “align with leading houses nationwide” moving forward, Schilling said in the release. The expansion is being supported by a recently completed facility expansion, which increased Schilling’s annual production capacity to more than 350,000 barrels.
“Rather than be a company that’s going to go 50 states an inch deep and just try to sell highspots across the whole country, we would much rather be a company that provides a lot of great products for our relatively small distributor base,” Schilling told Brewbound in March. “I think that’s the right key to success for a company like ours that doesn’t have the resources to be a Truly or a White Claw overnight and go national and spend the kind of dollars it takes to make that realistic.”
Schilling increased dollar sales +36.73% in IRI-tracked channels in 2022 (52 weeks, ending January 1, 2023), making it “one of the fastest-growing alcoholic beverage companies in the U.S.” and the No. 2 “cider producer in the nation behind Boston Beer,” according to the release. Boston Beer’s total portfolio – which includes No. 1 cider brand Angry Orchard – declined -0.1% in the period, with Angry Orchard Crisp Apple declining -6.9% year-over-year (YoY).
Schilling’s growth also bucked national cider trends as the total segment recorded a -3.4% decline in dollar sales in IRI-tracked channels, losing 0.05 share of total beer dollar sales to claim 1.06% share of the category.