Heritage cider brand Merrydown has updated its packaging to emphasise its 60-year history and unique eating apple contents.

The SHS Group-owned cidermaker has replaced its apple tree motif with a more premium-looking central image of a couple of rustic characters picking apples from a tree.

It has made the Merrydown name bolder and introduced apple imagery to highlight the fact it contains eating apples and not bittersweet and bittersharp ones. It has also added a 'Trusted cider maker for over 60 years' label on the bottle neck.

"The new design has more personality and is less sterile," said Chris Carr, Merrydown MD. "We realised we should make more of our heritage as many leading brands are modern and don't have that opportunity."

The new design will roll out across Merrydown bottles and cans from next week.