Greg MacNeice’s family has been cultivating apples in County Armagh since 1855, and the business has moved with the times from selling fruit fresh to the market to processing Bramleys for bakeries and, more recently, building a cider brand with wider ambitions. That latest chapter has now taken a significant step forward, with Mac Ivors Cider selected for Lidl Northern Ireland’s Kickstart 2026 supplier development programme.

The listing gives the independent producer a new retail platform and underlines how local food and drink heritage can be turned into a modern consumer proposition. Lidl Northern Ireland said the six-month scheme will support 16 local producers with guidance on production efficiency, product development, packaging, marketing, administration and scaling plans. The products chosen for the programme will reach Lidl stores across Northern Ireland from 10 September 2026 as part of a two-week promotional campaign.

MacNeice, who is the sixth generation of his family to work the orchards at Ardress near Portadown, grew up between two food traditions. His father, Sammy, was an Armagh apple grower, while his mother, Michele, came from a French family with a winemaking background in the south of France. Childhood visits there left him convinced that cider should taste like fruit fresh from the orchard, not a heavily sweetened processed drink. T

hat idea became the basis for Mac Ivors, which he launched commercially in 2012 after beginning cider production in 2009. The company says each bottle contains the juice of five Armagh apples, using fresh-pressed fruit and a light-touch approach designed to keep the character of the crop intact. MacNeice has said the ciders on shop shelves did not reflect the quality of the apples being grown locally, and he saw that gap as an opportunity.

Today the family estate covers about 30,000 apple trees and produces roughly 12 million apples a year, with cider accounting for around half of the business. The company refocused in 2023 on apple growing, fresh apple packing and Mac Ivors Cider. It now makes premium Irish cider alongside an alcohol-free version, with varieties including Traditional Dry, Medium, and Plum and Ginger. The business has also emphasised its local sourcing and orchard-based identity, with the brand named after MacNeice’s grandmother, Annie Mac Ivor.

MacNeice remains closely involved in the product itself, tasting each batch before it is bottled, canned or kegged. He says consistency matters as much as growth. The company weathered the pandemic by cutting costs and shifting fruit into other markets after hospitality sales fell sharply, and it has since recovered. For MacNeice, the logic of the business remains unchanged: the orchard comes first, and the cider follows from there.

Do you produce or sell ready-to-drink cocktails here in the UK? We would love to hear from you! Take a look at our Ready to Drink & Mixed Drinks category today. Entries are still open! UK Quality Food & Drink Awards 2026 - 2026 Low, RTD & Speciality Drinks categories