February 2019 - 14

Cider production
bounces back after fire
Riveridge selling half of Michigan's
fresh apples
Riveridge Produce President Don Armock said the company's cider
operation has more than bounced back from a July 4, 2018, fire at its
30,000-square-foot fresh cider pressing/bottling facility in Grant, Michigan.
At the time of the fire, a new cider press was already being shipped
from Germany, and the facility engineer was able to set up the operation
in a temporary facility, he said.
" We were operational the last week of August, and the state of Michigan
got our licensing and we managed to get through our auditing, " Armock said.
Riveridge had budgeted for a 20 percent increase over the previous year, but
ended up producing 73 percent more than the previous year.
" We had a spectacular year, " he said.
Riveridge has to vacate its temporary facility during February but is in the
process of constructing a new permanent facility on M-37 south of Grant.
In addition to traditional ciders, Riveridge produces no-preservative ciders
and last year released three flavored ciders. Armock said the group recently
had a sales meeting where 18 different cider flavors were tasted.
The company has come a long way from its first foray into cider 18
years ago.
" It's big fun, " Armock said. " Our original goal in the cider operation
was to produce consistency in the mouth feel and in the flavor profile of
the cider, and to give superior shelf life. "
Riveridge Produce Marketing's packing operation for fresh apples. Photos: Riveridge
By Stephen Kloosterman
Associate Editor
One out of every two Michigan
apples will be marketed and sold by
a single company, after Riveridge
Produce Marketing's purchase of Jack
Brown Produce's brand and fresh-pack
sales operation.
Both companies are based in Sparta,
Michigan, in the middle of the Fruit Ridge
area that's historically used for growing
tree fruit because of its elevation, nearness
to Lake Michigan and soil. A total of
seven salespeople from the two companies
are now working for a single firm, said
Riveridge President Don Armock.
Bigger and better
He said the consolidation would allow
Michigan apples to better compete with
other heavy-hitting consolidated players in
the North American market.
" As shippers, we're competing against
firms who sell 20 million cartons in a season
- these are individual firms, " Armock said.
" The state of Michigan has been selling 10
million cartons a year, in total. "
He said his company has previously
sold about 37 percent of Michigan's
fresh apple crop. Together, the combined
companies will market and ship 50
percent of the fresh Michigan apple
crop, according to Riveridge. Michigan
produces between 8-11 million 40-pound
boxes a year, so half of that number would
be 4-5.5 million boxes.
" What this does, is, from a grower
perspective, it allows us to have more
market strength, " Armock said. " Basically,
there are so many logistical things that
this takes care of. If you're operating on a
relatively smaller scale, it's hard to take on
certain business, because you just don't
generate enough volume of desired sides or
grades to cover the customers' orders. And
there are economies of scale that also come
into play. Now, all of a sudden, there are
business software packages that we buy in
order to service customers, and we spread
that cost. There are food safety training
issues, cleaning crew issues, manager
training issues that all benefit from scale
because we're doing this collectively. "
Armock said Riveridge's highlytrained
staff now can work between the
packinghouses and make sure growers
are on the same page for issues such as
food safety.
" There's a myriad of things that all come
together when you're bigger, " he said.
Ongoing investment
Armock said Riveridge has staff with
experience in consumer-packaged goods
and category management with the
ability to analyze data for the benefit of
customers and growers. Riveridge has a
couple of new varieties that the company
is close to taking to market after having
invested in professional taste panels and
consumer focus groups of apple varieties
that are in development.
" It's pretty amazing the things you learn, "
Armock said. " So often we as growers say,
'This is just a great eating experience and
a real winner!' It takes on a life of its own.
Since we're in the selling business we should
know what the hell we're doing, right?
Ultimately, the consumer is the boss and the
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February 2019

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