Meet Josie Mielke of Urban Orchard Cider

Today we’d like to introduce you to Josie Mielke.

Hi Josie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
Urban Orchard Cider Co. began in what was the soon-to-be, up-and-coming area of West Asheville that is now better known as “East-West Asheville.” It was started by a local family of six that decided to promote the world of craft cider in America by utilizing local apples from Hendersonville, NC, and creative farm-to-table ingredients. In a time where product labels can be difficult to navigate and interpret, you can be sure that Urban Orchard Ciders are of the purest form. We are dedicated to producing the highest quality craft ciders that we feel good about drinking ourselves. Forget the days of overly sweet ciders, full of artificial sweeteners, aromas, colors, and flavors. We let fresh-pressed apple juice do the talking for us. Aging/maturation and a variety of yeast strains are competitive advantages for us, and we have found that the extra time delivers us a superior product. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This is a multi-layered answer. Obviously, COVID-19 created an immediate and ongoing obstacle to businesses. An ongoing result is that people’s patterns have changed. Asheville locals are not going out on the town as often and are instead drinking and eating at home. Also, tourism is down in our area, and foot traffic has decreased dramatically. The challenge in this is to adjust accordingly to a shrunken market of people and to entice those people to visit our space and discover our cider… Another challenge is an increased competition from other cider companies have started up in our area. When we began our venture in 2013, we were the first cidery in Asheville, NC; now, there are around ten production companies, including one that is the second-largest national brand. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Our work is producing quality craft ciders with the best ingredients available. We also educate the public about the importance of consuming quality ingredients. Josie went to Cider School in Hartpury, Gloucestershire, UK; she is on the N.C. Cider Association Board and has lectured at the Tennessee Wine Growers Conference. Josie is also assisted by our other cider maker, who teaches and has excellent credentials. 

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the COVID-19 crisis?
One of the biggest lessons to take from the crisis is that you need to be able to adjust and look for alternative solutions to all of the obstacles that arise. We streamlined our operation and have increased our output to other market areas. We believe in Urban Orchard Cider and in our future growth. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.urbanorchardcider.com
• Instagram: urbanorchardciderco
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UrbanOrchardCiderCo/
• Twitter: UrbanOrchardAvl