Chelsea

Located on an 800-acre family owned and operated orchard, Blake’s Hard Cider was founded on the values of its 72-year-old farming roots. Risk and chance in business started in 1946 when a young couple (Gerald and Elizabeth Blake) with no agricultural experience bought a small plot of land in Armada, MI. Thirteen kids later and a three bedroom farmhouse offered the Blake’s family their own workforce, and the opportunity to build a real legacy.

Blake Farms is now recognized as one of the most visited fall attractions in the Midwest, with over half a million guests making their way out for cider and donuts in 2017. With three locations in SE Michigan, and diverse offerings such as u-cut Christmas trees in the winter to zombie paintball in the fall, the Blake family has truly cornered the Michigan entertainment market.

With a passion for innovation, grandson, Andrew Blake, found his niche in the family business as well. Andrew graduated from MSU in 2011 with a Bachelor’s in Economics and pre-law and went on to work in Chicago for a real estate and development company. The farm had a certain allure
 to it though that the city could not fill. “I loved the city, but I wanted to come back and be a part of this and see what kind of opportunities there were here,” he says. After a year in Chicago, Andrew returned to Blake Farms with new ambitions. “I wanted to come back at some point, but I thought it would be later in life and not a year after college,” he says. Andrew took a few months to re-acclimate with the workings of the farm, which is centered on agri-entertainment, while also experimenting with hard cider. “I didn’t tell anyone; I didn’t pitch the idea right away.” When he did approach the partners in the business, his dad, Paul, and his Uncle Pete, they embraced the idea. “That was the fall of 2012, and by 2013 we had the Tasting Room open,” Andrew says. There are four partners in total as cousin, Eric Blake, operations manager of Blake Farms, is also involved. “There’s a lot of buzz and interest in hard cider right now,” says Andrew, who as the general manager oversees the Tasting Room, production, sales, and marketing. “It made a lot of sense... we have the playground to experiment with. We grow over 50 varieties of apples and produce some of the best sweet cider in the state,” he says. “Seems like it would be foolish to not add value to that process.” The hard cider company has allowed Andrew to carve out his own space in the business. “I didn’t want to come back and not have something to call my own, and I didn’t want to have something just handed to me.” The process of making hard cider is not overly complex Andrew explains, especially when you’re working with quality base-ingredients. “Our apples are diverse in character ranging from tart to sweet, including 10 acres of heritage varieties—old world apples. In the cider-making realm, they are regarded for their tannin properties, which produce an appealing mouth feel. In addition, we make superior products compared to the some of the big guys; there is no water or sugar added, and people can taste the difference. There is never a shortage of exciting changes to the operation from year to year. Out-of-the-box thinking has allowed them to significantly expand their market place, and the hard cider business has achieved growth that far exceeded my expectations. I am sure it will continue to grow because they offer a great atmosphere with great products.” Part of the expansion is driven by off-site sales. “Local beer distributors starting asking about selling in stores,” Andrew says. Blake’s Hard Cider is currently available in 18 states through Meijer, Whole Foods, 7-Eleven, Giant Eagle, Harris Teeter, and Kroger. “We are the largest producer of craft hard cider in the Mid-West,” he says. “With the $2 million dollar expansion, we’ve added tank capacity to brew over a million gallons a year.” The expansion also includes larger capacity for apple pressing. With 150 acres planted to apples, Andrew says they produce enough apples to meet the hard cider demand, but it would take away from their other businesses. So, they source apples from orchards around the state. “We don’t want to hurt our sweet cider and u-pick businesses that were our building blocks,” he says. The growth, he believes, is centered on the authenticity of the farm’s products, its story and history. “We are not just manufacturing hard cider,” he explains. “We are growing, pressing, fermenting and packing all right here on the farm. We’re farmers first, which is something that sets us apart.” Andrew says the family plans to keep pushing forward with new ideas, citing Michigan’s strong culture and connection with apples.

References

This article "Chelsea" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Chelsea. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

This page exists already on Wikipedia.

---