Keena al-Whyhadi
Journalist
Maple3
Maple3 of the Canadian brand makes macabre and flavored and flavored water
Although the drinking tree sap does not seem immediately attractive, Canadian producers hope that it will be the next essential gas drink in the world.
We have all heard of maple syrup, which is made by boiling the maple sap to produce a thick, soft and brown syrup which is generally poured on pancakes.
What is much less known is that you can drink the sap itself, which is called maple water. Light in color, it contains only 2% natural sugars, so it is only slightly sweet.
A small but increasing number of producers in Canada now sell this maple water in bottles or boxes, after having given it a filter and pasteurization to kill the microbes.
“People feel like drinking the wild Canadian Forest,” said Yannick Leclerc de Maple3, a maple drinking producer, based in Quebec.
The defenders underline the fact that it is a natural drink and the manufacturers hope that it will be able to steal certain sales of the similar product existing – Coconut water. The latter is made from water which forms naturally inside coconut.
As Canada is by far the world’s largest producer of maple syrup – representing more than 80% of production – it is understandable that the emerging maple water sector is also Canadian. In addition, it is centered in the province of Quebec, which is 90% of Canada maple syrup.
Yannick Leclerc
Yannick Leclerc, on the right, has set up his business with the trading partner Stéphane Nolet
Mr. Leclerc says that Maple3 is one of the pioneers in the sector. “No one (previously) thought of keeping sap for his hydration verses which simply boiled in syrup.”
He founded the company in 2013 with the trading partner Stéphane Nolet. In recent years, an increasing number of other producers have entered the market.
Mr. Leclerc affirms that Maple3 has doubled his annual profits since 2021, sales not only increasing Canada, but in 12 other countries, including France, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. Some 75% of its sales now come from abroad, and it sells both maple and sparkling maple versions, and sparkling versions with aromas of additional natural fruit.
“It is more than a simple local product at this stage,” adds Mr. Leclerc.
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The “tapping” trees for the sap involve piercing holes and fixing a pipe
For the maple water industry as a whole, a recent report predicts great growth. He estimated that global sales in 2024 have totaled $ 506 million (409 million pounds sterling), which should increase to $ 2.6 billion by 2033.
In comparison, global sales of coconut water reached $ 7.7 billion in 2023, which should reach $ 22.9 billion by 2029. So maple water has a long path to go.
Meanwhile, the global value of the maple syrup market was $ 1.7 billion last year, according to a study.
Beth Czerwony, a dietician of the Cleveland Clinic of Cleveland Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, said that the growing popularity of maple water is linked to its perceived health benefits.
“When the sap itself is filtered through the tree, it ends up absorbing a bunch of antioxidants,” she said. “So they will eventually have better performance and faster training recovery.”
However, a 2019 medical study concluded that maple water was “was not superior in terms of” normal water.
Jeremy Kinsella has the Soda Pop Bros in Windsor Ontario, which sells soft drinks under its own brand, as well as imports from around the world.
His family has been in industry for almost a century, and during his lifetime, he saw a good part of coming and coming.
He says that if maple water must go running, it needs financial support and the promotion of one of the huge global companies for soft drinks.
“It will take a larger soda manufacturer so that he can really go around,” he said.
Mr. Kinsella also says that the price of maple water is currently too high. “In the end, someone looks at a box of coke for a male and he looks at a can of maple water for three dollars, he will try it several times and return to Coke,” he said.
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It is difficult to see that maple water never exceeds the popularity of maple syrup
The marketing of maple water more would certainly help to increase sales, explains John Tomory, who helps direct Pefferlaw Creek Farms in Uxbridge, Ontario. He and his brothers have been making commercial maple syrup for almost 10 years, and for four, they also sell SAP to a Canadian brand called Sap Sucker. This makes sparkling sap with different added flavors, lime to grapefruit and orange lemon.
Mr. Tomory says he agrees with this approach to make sap more interesting. “I know that many people have just tried to sell the sap as it is, just the basic sap of the tree and it is always, but they have not really understood,” he said.
“So I think that carbonation and the addition of fruit flavor makes it more interesting. It is real innovation.”
Back in Maple3 in Quebec, M. Leclerc also thinks that the frothy version of the drink could be the most popular: “He has advantages that normal sparkling water does not,” he said, like a more flavor Interesting, without having all the bad things that (regular) has soda. “”
