At the Summer Fancy Food Show in New York last month, I came across a number of innovative and delicious products designed to drive sales and deliver exceptional taste in deli departments, foodservice outlets, and other venues.
One of the most striking of these offerings was Crown Maple’s line of maple syrups. With pitch-perfect branding and an outstanding depth of flavor, it was easy to see how the company’s line of artisanal syrups and other maple-infused products is well-suited to take maple beyond breakfast and add value to fresh-focused retail destinations along the supermarket perimeter.
I recently had an opportunity to connect with Michael Cobb, Crown Maple’s CEO, and Robb Turner, Founder and Owner of Crown Maple, to find out what makes the brand so unique and learn how those in our industry can capitalize on the sweet deals inherent in this category.
“Crown Maple was created to be of select quality and provide a premium product that represents the best nature has to offer,” Michael shares with me. “There are endless applications of maple syrup as a remarkable and robust natural sweetener and ingredient to elevate flavors. We frequently say ‘it’s not just for pancakes’ because the versatility of Crown Maple plays so well across almost every meal occasion.”
In 2010, Robb Turner founded Crown Maple on an 800-acre property in New York’s Hudson Valley. Though the land was originally purchased as a weekend retreat for the founder’s family, a conversation with a neighbor about the untapped potential of the maple trees growing on the property clued Robb into the opportunity at hand. And after Robb’s wife, Lydia, experimented with the property’s maple supply and found it to be the most flavorful sweetener she had ever encountered, the two set out to build a world-class maple operation.
“Introducing a premium, select quality maple seemed the right fit for the land, the environment, the community, and ultimately the consumers who enjoy Crown Maple as one of the most versatile ingredients in the kitchen,” notes Robb.
The finished Crown Maple line is the product of a unique synergy of pure natural flavor, artisan craftsmanship, and state-of-the-art technology.
“From the tree, maple sap starts as 98% water and only 2% sugar and is then boiled to a sweet golden liquid—with no other additives or other ingredients. Every barrel of Crown Maple syrup is filtered five times and taste-tested four times before being bottled,” Michael says, noting that while the maple syrup is as natural marvel, Crown Maple’s forward-thinking technological approach helps ensure the best possible natural product. “The Crown Maple Dissolved Air Flotation, or DAF, is…a peerless method for clearing bacteria, yeast, and other water-insoluble debris from the sap before any other process. The system allows Crown Maple to deliver a sap of higher purity and oxygenates the sap and returns it to a natural state, which allows layers of complex flavors to come forward in the finished pure maple syrup.”
In addition to maple syrup varieties, Crown Maple offers a variety of maple products including:
And Crown Maple’s products make an eye-catching and appetizing addition to any retail destination, particularly in deli and bakery departments, where various maple varieties pair well with a slew of products.
“The sweet and savory combinations of pure maple is increasingly found in leading kitchens as a culinary ingredient for saucing, drizzling, topping, and finishing,” says Michael. “Pure maple initially demonstrates the traditional sweet properties and in expanded uses demonstrates the complex depth and range of flavors. The possible applications are endless to create a romantic dance between sweet and salty, savory, and sweet, that constantly entices new ideas.”
The company offers hundreds of recipes and usage ideas on its website, from beverages and salads, to breads, chilies, glazes, marinades, and more.
For more on this and other exceptional companies in our industry, check in with us at Deli Market News.
