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Thread: Syrup pricing

  1. #31
    Tin_Man Guest

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    Canning jars: Pint $15 / Quart $25 / 1/2 gal $40.
    Maple Leaf & fancy bottles: 50ml $3 / 100ml $7 / 250ml $12 / 500ml $23 / 750ml $30

    Maple leaf and fancy bottles sell 4:1 to canning jars.

    I only bottle in glass no plastic. Don't sell gallon or 1/2 pint canning jars.

    My prices are on the high side because my costs are high. I live in a high traffic residential area and buy wood split & seasoned. Calculated that wood costs $.25 per ounce of syrup.

    I drive 30 miles round trip daily to collect sap and my truck sucks up the gas plus maintenance, estimated cost is $.05 per ounce of syrup.

    Equipment was app $15,000. I calculate that I need to sell 750 gal of syrup to break even on equipment cost, that is 38 years of syrup making @ 20 gal per year. I'm 65 years old, that will make me 105 years old before I pay off the equipment....and that's if I don't buy anything else which is next to impossible. For next year I'm purchasing a filter press which will cost around $3,000.

    I know it's impossible to come close to breaking even and I don't try, this is a hobby. I sell a limited amount of syrup every year, usually around 20 to 25 gal. First come first served. No problem selling at those prices.

    Thought about getting an RO but for me steam is my calling card, it's what draws the people. On days I don't boil I hardly sell anything, start boiling and it's a steady stream of people willing to buy maple syrup. I do this as a hobby not as a business. I tap and boil for a 6 week period every year and everyone in town waits to see the steam. No sugar shack, my concrete driveway gets transformed into an outside, no roof, maple syrup production area, might sound odd but I don't want a sugar shack, I love being outdoors & I think people like seeing what it takes to make maple syrup without entering a building. The town people love watching the steam billowing out, I let them throw wood on the fire, everyone gets a free 1oz free sample hot off the draw-off. I think the free sample is what sells the syrup, plus I think people feel guilty taking a free sample and not buying any.
    Last edited by Tin_Man; 04-24-2019 at 06:45 AM.

  2. #32
    Join Date
    Jan 2016
    Location
    Oostburg, Wisconsin
    Posts
    51

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    I don't make enough to sell, but I give it to friends and family. My son asked me this year how long it takes to make a gallon of syrup and I figured that I would probably have to charge about $30.00 a pint just to cover my time. Even at half that, I'd be at the high end of the market price!
    2016-First year
    17 Taps
    Block arch & steam pans
    About 1 1/2 gallons
    2017-20 taps
    About 3 gallons
    2018-13 taps
    Same Block arch & steam pans (modified arch & pans)
    2019-12 taps (keep losing trees)
    2020-Brand new Smokey Lake StarCat evaporator, about 15 taps.
    43.62N 87.78W

  3. #33
    Join Date
    Sep 2012
    Location
    Dresden, ME
    Posts
    163

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    Tin Man,
    You must have degree in marketing....
    2010 - barrel stove & a steam table pan. 10 - 12 trees
    2011 - same deal as the year before. My son is now hooked along with me.
    2012 - Took over the garden shed and set up a Mason 2x3. Hoping to tap 30 - 50 trees. Ended up with 100 taps out.
    Finished the season with 16 gallons made
    2013- - Purchased a Smokey Lake 2 x 3 Hybrid pan. WOW, what a difference!!

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