A Farnham cider maker has called for tougher rules on what can legally be sold as cider and for clearer labelling of where it is made.

Kathryn Lockett, founder of Farnham-based Misty Moon Cider, is backing the Campaign for Real Ale's (CAMRA) push for tighter regulation of the cider industry.

She is joining growers and producers across the country who are calling on the government to protect what CAMRA calls England's "traditional native wine".

Under current UK rules, a drink can legally be sold as cider with as little as 35 percent apple juice content, the rest made up of water, sugar and concentrate.

CAMRA is campaigning to raise that minimum to at least 50 percent – or ideally 85 percent. It argues the current threshold allows large-scale producers to sell industrially diluted drinks under the same name as traditional cider.

Ms Lockett said that tighter rules, and packaging that's clearer about where and how a cider is actually produced, would level the playing field for small producers that are harvesting local fruit and making the cider for themselves.

"Better regulation and clearer, more honest labelling is really key to letting consumers decide who they want to support with their money and could be a game changer for small scale local cider producers like Misty Moon," said Ms Lockett.

A YouGov poll commissioned by CAMRA found 87 percent of consumers support raising the minimum juice content to help halt the decline of orchards.

The group also points out that the US already requires 50 percent juice content, with a similar requirement due to come into force in Germany and under consideration in the EU.

With apple harvest season just weeks away, Farnham-based Misty Moon Cider is heading into its busiest time of year.

Each autumn, Misty Moon Cider picks and collects surplus apples from gardens and orchards across the Surrey and Hampshire area that would otherwise go to waste.

Last year alone, Misty Moon rescued seven tonnes of surplus apples that would otherwise have rotted where they fell, turning them into craft cider instead.

The scheme also helps protect the trees themselves, offering tree and orchard owners an outlet for fruit they might otherwise have no use for and giving a good reason to keep the region's precious trees standing.

"It's always amazing how many gorgeous apple trees people have on their properties across Surrey and Hampshire. As it's estimated that 90 percent of England's traditional orchards have been lost since the 1950s, it's so important we preserve the apple trees we have left.

"These trees provide such rich wildlife habitats and act as a lifeline for bats, birds, bees and butterflies every spring. Finding a good home for these apples also helps reduce food waste and carbon emissions," said Ms Lockett.

The business's approach has earned it formal recognition. Misty Moon Cider was named Best Cider of the Festival at the 2023 Farnham Cider and Sausage Festival and, in 2025, received a Business Growth Grant from Surrey County Council.

It also works directly with tree and orchard owners and charities across the region, and its bottles and gift packs are sold as small-batch products, rather than mass-market blends.

But Ms Lockett said Misty Moon operates in a market stacked against smaller, genuinely local producers.

"Many people simply don't realise that some cider producers that present themselves as small and local don't press their own fruit at all, but have their cider made for them by large third-party producers based elsewhere.

"As they don't make the cider themselves, this of course means they don't have the related costs. It's not that these producers make a secret of this, it's just not always obvious from the labelling."

Pricing competition, combined with rising operating costs – energy, packaging and the labour of small-batch production – makes it a difficult market for tree-to-bottle cider makers to survive.

Despite the challenges, Misty Moon will continue to work hard this year to gather surplus apples and produce its popular small-batch craft cider.

It has also just launched a new one-day cider-making course, running on Friday and Saturday, October 9 and 10, at the Rural Life Living Museum in Tilford.

Misty Moon cider is available to buy online and from selected local stockists, including Elphicks, Wine Rack, Wrights Lion Brewery, the Hogs Back Brewery Shop, Squires Garden Centre in Frensham and RHS Wisley.

You can also find Misty Moon Cider at the William Cobbett and the Bush Hotel in Farnham, and the Bat and Ball in Wrecclesham.

Details of the company's apple collection and its new cider course are available at www.mistymoon.co.uk