Increase sales

[tonka]

All my syrup I sell sells through out the year, I have an uncle who owns a greenhouse which I bring some syrup there to sell, I sell some but not a lot, and I also sell some when we sell sweet corn in town with a jar here and there through out the summer fall and winter. I would like to build a processing facility this coming summer for the 2016 sugaring season and put up some signs on a couple major highways within 5 miles of my location and advertise in the surrounding news papers with the days and times when I am open and possibly thinking about doing an open house where people can come in and check out the whole process, to teach and give people an idea on what it takes and just the whole process the trees take to produce the sap and cooking till the sap is syrup. What kind of increase in sales have some of you experienced when you open up during the season for people to come in and buy your syrup? How successful have you been in syrup sales and turn outs for those who hold open house's for the public?

[maple flats]

I have opened my sugarhouse since I grew to over 100 taps (yr. 2). However my greatest increase came when the newspaper did an article on me. That was in 2008. That year a reporter from the Syracuse, NY paper who lived near one of my leases, stopped when I was doing pre-season repairs and asked if I would mind they do an article. That article appeared on a Sat, just 2 weeks before Maple Weekend. While it didn't cover only me, I did have a good exposure. Then a photographer/reporter from the same paper called to ask if he could come take some pictures and I said yes. His piece appeared in the next Thursday's paper, 9 days before Maple Weekend and it covered me exclusively, and filled about 1/2 page worth, but not all on the same page. Then the Sunday paper came out, 1 week before the Maple Weekend event and there I was, the feature article on a magazine insert, the full front page and 2 more almost full pages on pages 2 and 3. Well, when Maple Weekend came I had my shelves full and my canner full, my small finisher full,plus a pot or 2 ready to finish off.
The crowds were more than I was prepared for. The event ran from 10-4 both Sat. and Sunday, and my sugarhouse was filled (about 25 visitors) all day and I also had a line outside, waiting to get in of about 20-30 people ALL day long. Come Sunday, the same thing. That following week I bottled everything I could and the next Sat, the second weekend of Maple Weekend, it repeated again. This time I ran out of bottled syrup on Sunday,but still had a full canner, which was filtered , density checked and ready to pack. As people asked for a certain size my grandson filled the jug (or glass) and my wife labeled it and I sold it. When the canner full (about 18 gal) ran out, we took names and filled those over the next week or so and called the customers and they returned to buy it.
While advertising is OK, getting free advertising is great. Call your local paper and see if you can get them to do a piece on your operation. You may not want quite as much exposure as I got that year, but any good exposure will work wonders.
A word of caution, get liability insurance, and be ready to handle the traffic.

[CPlace]

Since 2011, we have processed maple syrup and have sold it retail for the past couple of years. We have always welcomed visitors anytime we are boiling sap and provide free samples throughout the season. We carry a variety of sizes and now feature an assortment of glass containers. I have always sold to co-workers, family, and friends. Two years ago I took a promotion that required me to be involved with the community. I am active with a number of civic organizations and not a week goes by that I don't have a meeting for the community. Members of the organizations have been fascinated with the process of making maple syrup and have been buying from me regularly. I had one Rotarian visiting my club when I was giving my classification talk. After mentioning that I made maple syrup in my speech they wanted to buy some to bring back to Washington. A few weeks later, they told me one of the 500ml bottles of syrup auctioned for $45. Now the organizations are ordering large quantities from me to package in their own bottles for resale. Also, I work with many professionals, and when I receive a referral I give them a small bottle of syrup thanking them for their business. This gives them something unique to remember me by and they usually they come back wanting to buy more for themselves and as gifts.

[tonka]

Sounds like something to look into with the news paper article Maple Flats. Even if I would pay for advertising it seems like it would pay for it self, specially if I would get into 5 different papers all within 30 min., but yes, free is always nice when the budget is tight. Thanks for your experiences you guys have delt with.

[maple flats]

I think an article will outperform an ad. The problem is selling the idea to a reporter. Pictures always help. After my articles appeared, I cut them out and laminated them. Now they decorate my sugarhouse. I also had some posters by Brian Cabot, of Cornell that I had printed as 12 x 18" posters and laminated. If anyone wants those, send an email request to: dklish@earthlink.net I will attach the posters to a reply. Dr.(?) Brian Cabot offered them free to anyone who wants them. They cover tapping guidelines, making maple, forest mgmt., 5 reasons to buy pure maple products, and Climate Change. I got them thru www.cornellmaple.info