Who owns MAGNERS CIDER?

Not to be confused with Bulmer’s

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Magners Irish Cider, also known as Bulmers Irish Cider within the Republic of Ireland, was founded in Clonmel, Ireland in 1935 by William Magner. Magner purchased an apple orchard in the city, as well as the site of the old Thomas Murphy’s Brewery on which he built a cider mill. The operation quickly became a success, and began attracting international attention. In 1937, Magner sold a 50% stake in the business to English company Bulmers Cider, which needed their capacity to meet the company’s production needs. Bulmers eventually purchased the other half of the company in 1946 and renamed it Bulmers Ltd Clonmel.

In 1960, Irish soft drink company C&C Group purchased the rights to sell Bulmers in the Republic of Ireland. However, as the twentieth century drew to a close, they wanted to market their product abroad, and revived the Magners brand name in 1999 for export markets. The idea to revive the Magners brand name came from Brendan McGuinness and Shane Whelan, employees at C&C Group, who believed that the rising popularity of Irish pubs around the world would make a brand with an Irish legacy a fertile ground to grow the marketing of the product. The Magners name was first used in Spain, Germany, and the United Kingdom in 1999, and had made it into the United States by the following year.

As a result, Magners sold around the world and Bulmers sold within Ireland are essentially the same product, and even share similar branding. However, Bulmers sold outside of the Republic of Ireland is made by Heineken N.V., the company’s owner after various acquisitions. That product is marketed as an “English Cider” and is otherwise distinct from Bulmers Irish Cider.

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