Dear, Michelle--

We are in unprecedented times. We know you are facing economic uncertainty. As your association, we are here to listen to your challenges, and get help on its way in whatever capacity we can. Here are a few things we’re doing to help.

Provide an informational hub specific to our industry’s needs: We’ve launched our Covid-19 resource page. We’ll be updating this daily to help you access useful information. 

Connect you to your peers to share challenges and solutions:We have launched a Facebook group for peer to peer networking with fellow members. We will also be monitoring our website’s forum. If there was ever a time to need to connect, now is it. Members can click here to request to join the Facebook group.

Unify our voice for our specific needs: The beverage alcohol community, including the American Cider Association, is working hard to advocate for solutions to relieve the impact of closures and lost jobs. Cider is absolutely an economic driver and that’s a story that is easy to tell. The beverage alcohol community is having early conversations about delayed excise taxes and other paths to help all our members keep their doors open in the long run. How has Covid impacted your business? What form of relief would help during this difficult time? Please take our 7-question survey to help us craft the message of urgency and need to Congress and the TTB. 

Look to the future: It’s hard to think about much else than this crazy situation right now. Nevertheless, the American Cider Association is working hard to find ways to help our industry weather this storm, including keeping our eye on the future of the industry. Our long-term goals to grow a diverse and successful industry haven’t changed, and we won’t lose sight of them even as we focus on short term support. We are planning to host virtual town halls for all of our regions in May. You can sign up now, forget about them for a few weeks, and then join us for updates on our next 3-year strategic plan, including our compliance camp project to provide members with comprehensive resources on topics like excise taxes, labeling, franchise law and licenses. These town halls are open to all cideries—regardless of your membership status. Stay tuned for official dates and registration links. 

We’ll be back with more resources to support you on a rolling basis over the next few weeks. Thank you for being a member so we can harness this industry’s collective power to do what it needs to thrive. In the coming days, check on your cider industry peers and friends. We promise to do the same. Cider IS stronger together.

Be well, cider friends. You'll hear more from us soon.

Sincerely, 

Michelle McGrath
Executive Director
American Cider Association
Our Board | Our Strategic Plan | Our Programs

Thank you to Scott McDermott and Wine Enthusiast 40 Under 40 for the image.