Q&A: Leominster's big business of squeezing apples
Photo | Courtesy of New England Apple Products
From left: Cheryl Schondek, Greater Boston Food Bank; Franklyn Carlson, Carlson Orchards; Steve Rowse, New England Apple; Brian Morrill, GBFB
New England Apple Products in Leominster produces more than a million gallons of apple cider a year, drawing on more than 100 years of family history. Run by the same family that launched popular juice company Veryfine Products Inc. of Littleton, which in turn traces its roots back to 1865, New England Apple Products is very much embedded in the apple-and-juice industry in northern Massachusetts. Manager and CEO Steve Rowse, who runs the company with his brothers David and Richard Rowse, spoke to WBJ about their family’s history and how the company relies on close collaboration with other local businesses to get their products out in the world.
When did you leap from Veryfine to New England Apple Products?
There was a gap; it wasn’t really a transition. My family sold Veryfine to Kraft Foods in 2004, so that was the end of the Rowse family history in the juice business up until that point. And then Dave and I got back into it in 2011 and 2013 when he joined me in this apple cider venture, but there was a break between the Veryfine years and the apple cider years.
What drew you back into the juice making business?
I tell people squeezing apples is the only thing I know how to do, which is tongue in cheek. But I live a mile and a half from the home farm at Carlson Orchards in Harvard. I’ve known the Carlson brothers since I was a kid, and the whole opportunity started with a conversation with Franklin Carlson about how their cider business was growing and growing; and how they were really strained with limited resources on the farm to continue to support that growth.
That initial conversation turned into a discussion about buying all the cider assets from Carlson Orchards and relocating them so that cider business could continue to grow. So that's what I did. We were literally unbolting equipment at the farm over Labor Day weekend of 2011 and bolting it back together over here and in Leominster, 15 miles away. We’ve been running here ever since.
So I just I just picked off the sweet cider piece, if you want to think about it that way, and everything else that was there is still on the farm in Harvard, the Carlson brothers are still running it.
What was it like taking over the helm of the cider business?
Food trends are constantly evolving. The locally sourced, close to the farm consumer interest had already started and was building. It was evident in the year-over-year growth the Carlson’s were seeing in their sweet cider business. Products that are closer to the farm, more natural and minimally processed have been growing in demand for the last couple decades.
So, the opportunity to participate in the fresh end-of-the-juice business, with a business that already had a customer list, was generating profitable revenue and was growing, but needed more operational capacity, was interesting. It seemed to be an opportunity to fit what I thought I could do.
Why did you choose Leominster? Did its history with Johnny Appleseed play a role?
I didn’t choose Leominster because that’s where Johnny Chapman was born. I looked at a number of empty industrial buildings from Lowell to Worcester, and the Leominster building was in a great location, was the right size, and it had been empty for years, so it was a blank canvas. I could build it out and fit it out to what we needed to do.
And frankly, City Hall, from Mayor Dean Mazzarella on down, Leominster was probably the most helpful out of any of the municipalities I talked to in terms of helping to source the property and provide some short-term tax incentives to help me get going.
I applaud the mayor for doing a good job of building enough of a commercial industrial base, from a revenue standpoint, and providing really terrific services for his residents.
You’re a relatively young business, then the pandemic hits. How has that been?
In March, we didn’t know what we now know about COVID, so there was a fair bit of uncertainty and nervousness about what this thing was going to be like. Very early on, Gov. Charlie Baker put the kibosh on restaurants and bars. While distribution to those types of outlets isn’t a huge piece of our business, that revenue stream pretty much went to zero, very quickly. But we were able to take advantage of some of the federal small business programs and were able to maintain our workforce and keep them working, keep them paid.
As things unfolded across the summer and the fall, business was different. Cider season is from Labor Day to Christmas, and volume seems to be up across the board. I should mention, we make cider for a handful of other orchards and the other surprise dynamic this year was the pick-your-own business was off the charts, not just at Carlson’s, but also for a number of family farms in the area we provide cider to.
Could you tell me a bit more about your hard cider production?
That's pretty new here. We fired up a canning line for hard cider right about the beginning of cider season this year.
It's been going great. In fact, we're filling cans of Carlson's Oak Hill blend right now, and we’re looking forward to launching our first new product here, hopefully, next week.
Do you sell your product under the Carlson name?
Our primary brand name for sweet cider is still the Carlson Orchard brand. We make sweet cider under their brand, and we added the hard cider a little while ago.
What is it like collaborating closely with another regional business?
Ever since the conversation started about picking up the cider operation, I’ve been figuratively attached to the hip with the Carlson brothers. They’re an independent business; they grow the apples, and we squeeze them; but I talk to Frank Carlson, who is the brother that runs the operation over there, a couple times a day about one thing or another. They’ve accused me of being the fourth brother, but I’m not quite sure it’s that close.
I’m a steward of their brand, I’m responsible for their cider, and it’s their name on the label. I take that responsibility pretty seriously, and I don’t want to let them down.
You have been donating some product to the Greater Boston Food Bank recently, correct?
I was watching the Channel Five news last April or May, when WCVB ran a major fundraising drive for GBFB. Food insecurity early on in the pandemic was a growing concern. We had the resources, and we started filling jugs with cider and our Carlson's lemonade, which we make in the summer, to donate to the food bank back in the spring.
With Thanksgiving coming, we decided to fill up another couple of truckloads and donate that to the food bank as well. One of our bottle suppliers, our box maker, caps supplier and label supplier all provided and donated the supplies for that donation. It was really great of the suppliers to step up. They didn’t have to, and a couple of the suppliers are big, national, or multi-national companies.
This interview was conducted and edited for length and clarity by WBJ staff writer Monica Busch.
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I can see through the window of my kitchen the truck loaded with apples and now knowing a little about its history is great !!!! Amazing !!!!!
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