2018 Bulk Price

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Originally Posted by hand drill

you make syrup for the bulk price weather you like it or not. selling syrup is something else, you do not need to make syrup to retail it in jugs.

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Very Very True. Something I think many people just do not understand. Maple Flats I would have to disagree with your (recipe for bankruptcy) comment. If a person sells his syrup for bulk price and makes 4000 Gallons per season he makes (around) $2.10LB for a total of $92,400. If he sells his syrup for $30.00 a gallon even after the jug cost of $2.10 he still makes $4.80 more per gallon. 4000x4.80= $19,200. I would say that making that extra $19,200 will save him from getting into bankruptcy.

The real reason people don't like seeing someone lower their prices is because they don't want to lose sales of their own. smaller operations spend way more money per tap to get set up. If they don't get their $40-70 per gallon they could be filling for bankruptcy. The big operations will always have and always will have the upper hand on the little guys. The little guys selling syrup make up about 1-2% of the overall syrup sales worldwide. the syrup prices have already dropped to $9.99 a quart in places like Cosco. If the packers see those sales going up then they could drop the price we see in our grocery stores. Right now we are seeing $17.99-$22.00 a quart. As soon as we start seeing syrup sell for $9.99 a quart in the grocery store the little guy will be forced out of the sugaring business. I would hate to see this happen but things like this happen in farming and all businesses every year. So the guy selling for $30.00 a gallon just gave himself a raise. That raise could be giving him and his family a vacation to Hawaii or maybe pay for college. He may be hurting the guy trying to sell for $45 but he is not doing anything wrong. In my eyes he is doing everything right ( for his family ).

Spud

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Originally Posted by spud

Very Very True. Something I think many people just do not understand. Maple Flats I would have to disagree with your (recipe for bankruptcy) comment. If a person sells his syrup for bulk price and makes 4000 Gallons per season he makes (around) $2.10LB for a total of $92,400. If he sells his syrup for $30.00 a gallon even after the jug cost of $2.10 he still makes $4.80 more per gallon. 4000x4.80= $19,200. I would say that making that extra $19,200 will save him from getting into bankruptcy.

The real reason people don't like seeing someone lower their prices is because they don't want to lose sales of their own. smaller operations spend way more money per tap to get set up. If they don't get their $40-70 per gallon they could be filling for bankruptcy. The big operations will always have and always will have the upper hand on the little guys. The little guys selling syrup make up about 1-2% of the overall syrup sales worldwide. the syrup prices have already dropped to $9.99 a quart in places like Cosco. If the packers see those sales going up then they could drop the price we see in our grocery stores. Right now we are seeing $17.99-$22.00 a quart. As soon as we start seeing syrup sell for $9.99 a quart in the grocery store the little guy will be forced out of the sugaring business. I would hate to see this happen but things like this happen in farming and all businesses every year. So the guy selling for $30.00 a gallon just gave himself a raise. That raise could be giving him and his family a vacation to Hawaii or maybe pay for college. He may be hurting the guy trying to sell for $45 but he is not doing anything wrong. In my eyes he is doing everything right ( for his family ).

Spud

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Well said spud! Price is ultimately the biggest factor in whether your going to sell syrup or not and how much. If you have a quality syrup and a low price, that is even better. In the end, an added benefit to lower prices should be increased demand and sales. What continues to baffle me is the number of people that have gotten into the business the past 10-15 years. It just astounds me! Its hard work, you work with and in rough weather frequently, the inspection requirements are escalating upwards every year, trying to keep a full time job and sugar is beyond not easy! I don't get it? Maybe these lower bulk prices will start thinning the herd?

Although no producer likes margin erosion, it is important to remember the main competition for consumer wallet is not simply other maple products, it is the cheaper sweetener alternatives. That has been the case since the sugarcane boom. Lower maple syrup shelf prices will help sell product against cheaper, and readily available alternatives.

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Originally Posted by southfork

Although no producer likes margin erosion, it is important to remember the main competition for consumer wallet is not simply other maple products, it is the cheaper sweetener alternatives.

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In the pure maple world your producer neighbor(s) down the road trying to sell to the same target audience IS your immediate competition! In a broad scope, yes the competition is cheaper sweetener alternatives. Since the prices of maple will realistically never get as low as alternatives, its unfair to assume this into every equation.

I agree, there are microcosms of competition, that is true in any niche. I was referring to those mentioning Walmart and Costco as their reference.

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Like I said, for right or wrong, the consumer has plenty of cheaper alternatives to use as a sweetener. Sugarcane is a mighty business, Belglade, Florida is alive and well, was there last month. The maple industry has it's work cut out for it. It is always difficult to market against alternatives, especially when they are offered much cheaper, and by companies able to penetrate large markets.

I am in no way saying this is good for maple, in fact it is bad. But, the realities remain that there are sweetener alternatives to maple which are cheaper and more readily available........... and that is our main obstacle to market penetration.

Anyone who is buying their syrup at Cosco or Walmart is not my customer. The folks that buy our syrup also buy our eggs, beef, salsa, pork, honey, etc. We don't compete on price, we compete on quality and local.

Just a thought. Why would some one add on 200,000 taps with a 30 year lease if they didn't think they could move it at a profit. Obviously there are economies of scale working with those numbers. But, no market is guaranteed, especially for 30 years.

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Originally Posted by Atgreene

Anyone who is buying their syrup at Cosco or Walmart is not my customer. The folks that buy our syrup also buy our eggs, beef, salsa, pork, honey, etc. We don't compete on price, we compete on quality and local.

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If the price drops to $9.99 a quart in ALL the local stores then even your customers ( might ) make the switch. That is if your charging more then the $9.99. There will always be some loyal customers that will buy your syrup no matter the price difference. But that kind of market only makes up about 1% of the overall maple sales worldwide.

Spud