517: What Made ACE Cider Brand Worth $40+ Million

Jeffrey House and his wife Angela founded the California Cider Company in 1993 and built ACE Cider into a nationally distributed brand before selling the company in 2021.
In this Cider Chat, Jeffrey gets into what it actually takes to build a cider business: distribution, margins, product development, persistence, scaling, knowing when to sell, and why making great cider is only part of building a valuable company.

Mentions in this Cider Chat
- Boston CiderFeast – November 14, 2026
- French Cider Blossom Time Tour – April 24–May 1, 2027 – Find out about Totally Cider Tours: https://ciderchat.com/totally-cider-tours/
- eCiderNews – This week's story features the new Somerset cider box collaboration from Wilding Cider and Rawlins Family Cider- Wilding and Rawlins Team Up on Somerset Cider Box

Time Stamps

00:00 Cider Without Overthinking
02:13 The ACE Cider Origin Story
03:19 Out & About in Ciderville
06:05 Cider Events, Tours & News
09:31 Meet Jeffrey House
11:18 From Local Apples to National Scale
15:52 Building a Cider Company to Sell
18:58 Immigration & the Early Hustle
24:19 Finding Product Winners
30:34 The Reality of Cider Distribution
33:37 Building the Brand & Planning an Exit
37:21 Location, Costs & Business Decisions
38:32 Serendipity, Timing & Luck
39:58 The Entrepreneurial Mindset
41:58 Building a Product vs. Building a Business
42:29 The Pareto Principle & Persistence
44:41 Scaling, Cash Flow & Margins
46:38 Standing Out with Fruit Ciders
47:35 Selling ACE Cider
52:26 The Reality of Corporate Ownership
54:11 How the Cider Market Has Evolved
56:07 The Origins of ACE Fruit Ciders
58:36 Jeffrey House on Cider's Future
01:00:43 The Cider King
01:01:52 Ria's Wrap & Totally Cider Tour
01:03:17 Closing Song

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🌐 Episode show notes: https://ciderchat.com/podcast/517-what-made-ace-cider-brand-worth-40-million/
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