December News
Marc & Mandy Show!
In our November newsletter we announced that our owner Glenda Hart was making a guest appearance on the Marc & Mandy Show.
The cooking episode has since aired and features Glenda making a scrumptious Stuffed French Toast with our Birch Bacon Jam and Birch for Breakfast Syrup. Make sure to view the episode! You can order these products at our online store. If you try your hand at making the toast, please send us a well lit photo so we can feature it on our Instagram @canadianbirchsyrup!
Why we attend holiday markets...
November & December at The Canadian Birch Company are punctuated with long hours in the commercial kitchen keeping up with product demand and travelling to handmade markets across Canada. A huge part of our calendar at this time is swallowed by the demands of the handmade markets we attend and sometimes, it shows! Recently, a number of friends have asked, "Why do all that exhausting travelling to markets, especially out of province? Is it even worth it after you pay all the expenses?
This is a great question and one we have asked ourselves over and over as we drive through “never-ending" Ontario on our way to Toronto, trailer in tow and gas card smoking. The short answer is that the revenue generated by the show itself isn’t the only consideration. Other great opportunities have developed from attending markets and trade shows. Visibility at shows in the past are the reason our products are carried in select stores. It is also the reason our birch syrup was voted Product of the Year 2015.
We invest valuable resources to boost our online presence so that you can find us online and easily navigate our online store to ship products straight to your door but we miss the human contact in these markets. Our best education is often attained on the trade show floor speaking directly with our customers, hearing their feedback and seeing their reaction as they get their first taste of our products.
The bottom line is if you don't go the dance, you won't get asked to the party. We have seen this happen time and time again in our travels. While some believe in-person markets are an antiquated method of doing business, there is still a large segment of people that love to shop at markets and we want to be part of their experience. After all, where else will customers get the chance to sample our products before giving them a try? We love providing a taste of birch because we know that once you try our products you will be suitably impressed! And sometimes, when a product is not outstanding we learn this very quickly at the Birch tasting bar. For instance, our Birch Chocolate Toffee Sauce got great feedback at our test kitchen (and it is still one of our favorites!), however, when customers sampled it next to our Birch Whiskey Toffee Sauce, the whiskey sauce just stood out as the tastier option. If we didn't get this feedback at markets, we wouldn't be able to make informed decisions about our products.
If markets were our only focus to the exclusion of other marketing channels, then that would be hugely limiting for us. The truth is that in-person, social media AND digital marketing are ALL required to achieve success in this business these days. And we do all of this, perhaps not at the level we would like at times, but we continue to learn in this area and improve every year.
THANK YOU to all the wonderful craft show shoppers who have stopped at our booth over the years to explore the flavors of our birch products. We enjoy getting to know you and appreciate your continued support!
Meet our team of 'happy saps'
It's a blessing to have the team that we have assisting us in these endeavors because as you can imagine, without them, we could not stretch ourselves across the many tasks that are required to operate this business. Given this, we want to take this opportunity to acknowledge our team and family members that operate behind (and sometimes in front of) the scenes at The Canadian Birch Company throughout the year.
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Gaye, family member, is head of digital marketing and the creator of the company website and online store. She draws on her career in product marketing and systems technology as well as her love of cooking and baking when developing content and leveraging software for all of our marketing channels. Gaye experiments in the kitchen with new birch syrup recipes, writes all website copy, recipe blogs and news blogs. She designed our market booth, creates all brochures and visual materials, and has also managed the birch booth at many handmade markets and shows. Come spring time, she too will enter the forest, drill in hand to help tap the thousands of trees in our sugar bush. |
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Glenn, family member, is literally a jack of ALL trades. Glenn has a unique set of mechanical skills, and he is always willing to pitch in with whatever forest work, logistical tasks, and machinery maintenance are needed, even making product deliveries when things get busy. Glenn also is our #1 sitter for our beloved dog Tigs when we are out of town, which is not to be minimized in terms of how great a help it is knowing that Tigs is well cared for in our absence. Come March and April Glenn can be found working countless hours in the forest cutting deadfall, mending lines, clearing snow and tapping trees when the sap begins to flow. |
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Tim, family friend, has pitched in when we were short of help at markets and is an expert sales professional. You may have met Tim at the many markets he has attended, greeting you at the aisle with a friendly, "would you like to try a taste of Manitoba?", his favorite ice breaking phrase. Tim is highly personable, and a great help when we need extra hands in the sugar bush, tapping trees and maintaining lines. |
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Kelsey & Greg are a father/son team and a force to be reckoned with when it comes to the back breaking work required in the forest in the springtime. These two really showed their mettle and determination this last spring during the formidable 4 feet of snow to be navigated while prepping the forest for tapping. In the off-season they expanded their experience to the kitchen, learning how to make The Canadian Birch Company's gourmet collection and becoming key personnel in food production. |
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Krista is a marvel and game to tackle any job no matter how daunting. When we had to shovel 4 feet of snow off the literally kilometers of main lines this spring, Krista was undeterred throwing her toque into the ring with "the boys". Her positive attitude and smile are infectious. Who else would reply to an ad for work in a birch forest just for the fun and experience of it? Krista has a day job creating masterful artwork with glass @gibsons_glass. She is a very talented artist. |
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Salena, family friend, is an expert working the birch booth at markets. She has travelled with us to assist at many markets, is fully trained in the kitchen and was an instrumental help when we needed it most in fall/winter 2021. She has since migrated to Winnipeg from her hometown of Calgary, to land a great job in her chosen career as a respiratory therapist. No wonder, as she is a highly caring person with a fantastic work ethic. We are lucky to know her and even though she is busy putting in long hours at work, she answered the call to do a few shifts in the booth this fall during market season. |
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Keeping it all in the family, Mona pitched in to help sell, sell, sell in the birch booth this year. She is a firecracker, highly personable and well versed in all things birch, having used our products in her kitchen for close to a decade. And being a Franco Manitoban she provides much needed bilingual communications at markets too. Merci Mona! |
December Feature Recipes
Birch Berry Brie Bake
A simply prepared brie so delicious you will need to dig in quickly before it disappears!
Birch Bacon Stuffed French Toast with Bourbon!
Be sure to visit our birch recipe blog to find a wide assortment of recipes using our full lineup of pure birch syrups and sweet & social gourmet birch collection.
New Holiday Wrapping Service!
You've thoughtfully chosen a great gift to ship to a loved one. As you enter the shipping address, you briefly envision them receiving the delivery. The delivery itself is a surprise, but as soon as they open the box the item is revealed...BEFORE the holiday, no fanfare, no mystery, no FUN!
Wouldn't it be nice instead if the first thing your recipient sees is a nicely wrapped gift and a personalized handwritten card in a sealed envelope, only to be revealed on the "appropriate" day. Combined with our NEXT DAY SHIPPING commitment, get your gifts to loved ones early while preserving that special element of surprise & delightful anticipation.
For the holiday season, any online orders are eligible for our new gift wrap service and personalized notecards. For ONLY $4.99 we will personally see to the skillful wrapping of your gift. This service is provided at cost as a convenient, value added service from us to YOU! When you consider the cost of a gift bag and card these days this is a great value.
How?
- Go to Holiday Gift Wrapping Service and add it to your CART.
- During checkout enter a note instructing us as to what message you would like included in your card. If you would like a photo of the gift prior to shipping, let us know and we can email it to you.
Best Selling Gift Packs are BACK and ON SALE!
Starting at $33, our taster packs are very popular this year. This is because they offer a variety of products in one pack at a great price point and are the perfect way to gift the taste of Birch. Starting NOW these packs are an even BETTER DEAL! All gift packs qualify from Pure Birch Syrups to gourmet taster packs.
BUY 2, SAVE $5 | BUY 3 SAVE $10 ONLY while quantities last
Trio Taster Pack $33
Charcuterie Taster Pack $35
Ultimate Taster Pack $59 + MORE packs available!
December Inspirational Quote
"Living with fear stops us taking risks, and if you don't go out on the branch, you're never going to get the best fruit." --Sarah Parish
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