James O'Donoghue's Longways cider is made from apples grown in his orchards near Carrick on Suir, Co Tipperary but that is not where the story began. Before producing cider himself, O'Donoghue supplied apples for the C&C group, makers of Bulmers cider in Clonmel, a relationship that is still strong today.
O'Donoghue hasn't always worked with apples. He was a farm manager on a large commercial farm in Piltown, Co Kilkenny. When Teagasc advisor Harry O'Brien developed a pilot scheme with C&C Group and the Department of Agriculture requiring 10 growers to grow 20 acres of bittersweet apples each, O'Donoghue saw an opportunity.
“In September 1996, we bought the farm that you see today – 45 acres – and in February of 1998 we planted it.”
Orchards take a long time to mature so O’Donoghue was in no rush to leave his job as farm manager, staying with it for another five years.
“I remember the first year – we picked the apples by hand. We got a cheque for £28.80. It really took a good five to six years before we started getting a reasonable crop and last year was our best year ever.”
Exploring other interests before settling on producing his own cider set him on the right course for his own business, although the experience of setting it up wasn’t always pleasant one.
“In the intervening years, I did a few other crazy things in between. I tried to start another company that went completely pear shaped, I tried to set up a carbon credit trading company in 2006 and it cost me a fortune. It was a good learning experience. You learn by your mistakes, one I could have done without.
“It prepares you for the future. You tend to take fewer risks and are more conscious about your decision making. You are always mindful of the advice you get. It was a severe learning curve from a business perspective and it took a while to recover from it.”
The first product O'Donoghue made was an apple butter which he dismissed in favour of an apple juice. This product got him through the first stages of the Supervalu food academy but the packaging let it down.
He used the help he was given in design and marketing to bring the cider to the forefront and finally he decided to concentrate on Longways cider.
Keen to keep production prices down, O’Donoghue settled on a combination of his own bittersweet apples and Bramleys, which are widely grown in Ireland and easily sourced from Antrim.
Last year, Longways won gold at both the British Bottlers Institute Awards and the Irish Food Awards.
O’Donoghue has just secured a new contract with River Rye Brewing Company to distribute Longways cider. The company will also take over the social media and marketing of the product, something O’Donoghue admits he has been struggling with himself.
“My weakness would be in marketing, so I’ll give it to somebody else. I will end up getting a lower margin for my product but I am happier getting a lower margin for my product knowing that is all looked after. It’s a huge cost base that I don’t have to worry about.”
The fact that C&C is concentrating on Clonmel as its core production site, gives O’Donoghue hope of more security over his contract to supply them.
