Repackaging Bulk

[SeanD]

This year I will have the unfortunate combination of lots of customers and a short sugaring season. I'm considering buying bulk and repackaging it.

What's the general consensus on labeling and communicating any or part of this to my customers. Many of them like buying my products because it is local. Should I tell them up front I'm using another farm's syrup? Do I change my label? How have people handled this?

Thanks,
Sean

[Dennis H.]

Unless you have some agreement with the person who you bought the bulk syrup from I would not use their name.
You will be the last person to ensure that the syrup is of good quality and packaged correctly so you should have your name on the jug/bottle.

As for letting your customers know who's syrup it really is? That is your call. Yes you did not collect the sap, boil it down, but in the end you have to check and make sure that it meets your own standards for good maple syrup. You have to be sure that it is of correct density, filtered properly and bottled in a way that your customers expect. So is it really yours? In a way it is yours.

[Dave Y]

Sean, you are under no obligation to tell customers that you did not make the syrup. Your customers buy from you because they like your product,and you are local. Make sure the syrup you buy meets your standards.

[Big_Eddy]

The only caveat to above is that in Ontario at least if the syrup was produced in a different province (or state) then the labelling must declare that. I can't recall the specifics.

[Indiana-Jones]

What are you going to say if someone asks questions about the syrup's production or your bush.... and on and on? Do you come clean and explain you had a poor crop and had to buy bulk from who knows who.

My cent and a half worth, if syrup sales are that large part of your income and you can't take the short fall, bottle and label yours as always, bump up the price to a premium. Buy the bulk, label it as processed by you to your standards and give your customers a choice. Explain the situation and I bet you come out a head in the end with a clean conscious.

[Scribner's Mountain Maple]

I have faced the same dilemma. Should I tell my customers that I had to buy syrup to meet their order. Well I did once, with a near gasp of disappointment from my customer. I won't be making that mistake twice.

I suggest to reheat, re-filter and then can, that way you will have your seal of approval on it. Ideally you can buy from someone you know too.

I believe in what others have already stated, that you trying to grow a business, you are providing a local product, and it should be your name on it. You can work to increase your production so you won't have to buy in the future. Sometimes you take the customers when they are at your door step, not just when you have the product to sell them.

[jmayerl]

I could never sit at a farmers market and talk to people about the pride I take in collecting fresh sap from MY trees, boiling the same day, and taking great care to sell the best product I can make; and then in the next breath say that I bought this from a wholesaler and just bottled it. I have sold a few gallons as bulk when I had nowhere to store the syrup last year. It was "the worse" of any the syrup I had. Everyone has different standards so to each there own.

[markct]

I fourtanatly have so far never had to buy in bulk, my production has increased more than I have put effort into increasing my sales so I have been the one to sell bulk to a few others that needed it, but heres my thoughts on the situation if the day comes that I do have to buy bulk to supplement my own production, I wouldn't go advertising the fact, yet if someone asked if I make all the syrup I sell I would say "well we make a lot of syrup but occasionaly have a bad season since we are of course at the mercy of mother nature so at times do end up purchasing syrup from other farms as well" I think that is much better than some producers I have seen who will look a customer in the eye and say they make every drop of syrup they sell, when that's not at all the case and they buy more bulk each year than they produce.

[Russell Lampron]

In NH if you made the syrup yourself you label it "produced by" with your name and address. If you repackaged it the label has to say "processed by" with your name and address. I find that most customers never read the label anyway and I would only tell them it was repackaged if they ask.

[markct]

If you look at the website of Brown family farms which is a brand of Bascoms, they say it very well with a statement we partner with hundreds of independently owned family farms to bring you quality maple syrup. I think thats a perfect way to say it without saying we buy bulk and repackage it, nothing hidden or lies told just well phrased

[BnSmaple]

Buy local from another producer that sells in bulk before he sells to the big packers at least it stays local and label the same and only tell if they ask and explain how the year went and maybe blend the bought syrup with your own that way your customers still technically are getting some of your produced syrup

[DaveB]

We have a couple of different sales avenues and syrup from different sources for each of them. They syrup we sell at farmers markets, neighbors and land owners all comes from our farm. I've generally been able to meet all my local demand that way.

We also sell syrup in bulk to restaurants and other bulk users of syrup, including some drum buyers overseas. Those customers are coming to us to buy syrup, not just syrup produced on our farm. We have close personal relationships with all our buyers which helps them choose us over a larger packer. They (for the most part) don't care that we didn't produce it all, they just want a good price and a value added service. For that syrup we try to work directly with other producers so they can get a good price on their bulk and we can prevent buying "blended" or "mixed" syrup from a large packer. We try to buy as close to home as possible to keep the taste similar as well.

[Sandersyrup]

Why not come up with a completely different brand for this product. Completely disassociate it from your product and just declare that you are giving your customers more options and meeting the local demand. You could easily create a brand that your customers love and would appreciate. You're still providing something goooooood. Just convey it.

We have a local that repackages many types of bulk sugars. He produces nothing but you can tell the locals like his products and he gets as much credits as if he actually made it.

[happy thoughts]

Sean, just a thought- Is licensing required in MA for syrup sales or are farms exempt? If you're licensed, what does your license cover? I'm thinking here that as a reseller you may or may not fall into different licensing laws or regs. That may be something you'd want to look into before buying bulk.

[SeanD]

Thanks all for the great responses. You've given me a lot of options to think about.

Thanks,
Sean

[RollinsOrchards]

I find customers are very receptive to the concept of "trading" amongst other farmers. With Apples I may have a shortage of one variety and a surplus of another variety so I can "trade" and customers seem to like the idea. It may amount to trading a box of X plus $$$ for a truckload of Y, but they don't need to know the details.

I also find that I can start a long story about how many trees, and how much production, and before I get to revealing that this product isn't mine the customer will ask questions or lose interest, so we never get to the point anyway.

I also like Sanders idea - you can say " I am sold out of mine, but I do have this brand that was made by a friend of mine in east overshoe. I know it is good as I bottled it myself.

[maple flats]

Even though I have kept expanding my tap count most years, I have had to buy bulk about 4 of my last 10 seasons. I do the density checking, flavor checking, proper packaging and I stand behind it. My name is thus on the label. If anyone asks I tell them that I sometimes have to buy high quality syrup to meet my sales demand.

[Snowy Pass Maple]

What are you going to say if someone asks questions about the syrup's production or your bush.... and on and on? Do you come clean and explain you had a poor crop and had to buy bulk from who knows who.

My cent and a half worth, if syrup sales are that large part of your income and you can't take the short fall, bottle and label yours as always, bump up the price to a premium. Buy the bulk, label it as processed by you to your standards and give your customers a choice. Explain the situation and I bet you come out a head in the end with a clean conscious.

I like this approach - especially if you can partner with local producers - but the catch is that if you had a low year, probably everyone else did. It's honest and transparent and lets the consumer make an informed decision whether they want to help you out if they know you've had a tough year - and most importantly, trust you forever. One of the most important differentiating advantages of a small producer is that we control everything end-to-end and can vouch for it at a level way beyond what is in a grocery store - and I find that people are willing to pay a premium for that - so they deserve to get our total transparent honesty in return.

As I got into this, I was very surprised to discover how many maple operations re-process syrup and don't tell consumers. If people understood how widespread that practice is, they might not be so inclined to seek out individual producers, which hurts all of us. They could just go to Ocean State Job Lot and buy a quart for $13. Some of these comments sound like very weak rationalizations of why it's OK to undercut that approach to maintain your earnings. It's a very slippery slope from high value small producer to industrial scale food supply chain. If people wince when they find out you repackaged with no disclosure that it's not from your operation, that should make it that much more clear that they deserve this clarity up front. One of the worst things I see in our area is Hannaford marketing a bulk repacker's syrup that happens to be based in our county as "local" with special display tags. And 99% of the buyers are probably none the wiser.

I realize this is not the dominant opinion, probably offends some people, and it's easy to say when it's not a primary source of income. But I think once you're repackaging, you should be competing in the repackaged commodity market - not the on-farm market that wants to go see where there syrup was made and know the people and place that made it. We at least owe consumers in that market total transparency to make an informed decision, as suggested by the user above. It might even reinforces the premium value of your own personal "brand!"

[I Luv Stainless]

We always add some of ‘our’ syrup to all batches of bulk syrup. Every jug or bottle we sell actually does have some of our syrup in it. This is how we address this issue in our FAQ’s page:

Does all Maine Sugarworks syrup come from the trees on your property?

No, we have several maple stands that we tap some are next to our home others are on different farms. We also purchase some bulk Maine syrup to blend with ours. All syrup is blended* The sap from each individual tree is blended with the sap of other trees, the sap from different sap births is blended together before it is boiled each night, and many days' syrup production is blended together for bottling. Before bottling, we sample, discuss and choose the best blend
according to flavor. It is all about flavor; we pride ourselves on the delicious rich flavor of our maple syrup.

* Actually I have a buddy, Peter in Kingfield, Me. who taps 1 tree each year! 1 hole, 1 spile, 1 bucket and 1 lid! He boils on his kitchen stove and bottles in baby food jars with an awesome label. His production operation is the only one I know of that is not blended!