Maple Syrop

The Maple products - Sweet Heart Ltd.
In the food market, it is difficult to find products with many advantages such as maple syrup, of which Canada is first producer. This natural product has an ample range of marketing opportunities due to its nutritional properties and applicability in a wide range of food products.

There are numerous health benefits of real maple syrup. For instance, itis the only food in our diet coming directly from a plant’s sap, and it is also a natural sweetener that features over 54 antioxidants that can help delay or prevent diseases caused by free radicals, such as cancer or diabetes. In addition, maple syrup features high levels of zinc and manganese, keeping the hearth healthy and boosting the immune system.

Canada is by far the largest producer ofmaple syrup with 84% of world production. Within Canada, production is concentrated in the province of Quebec, which amounts to 73% of the national total. Taken alone, this Canadian province produces 78% of the world production.

The purpose of this market study is to obtain information about maple-related consumption in order to increase the sales volume of gourmet maple products – granulatedmaple sugar, BBQ sauce, maple blueberry tea, butter, candies and caramels, cereals, yogurts, jams and spreads, ketchup and mustard, maple nut snack, maple vinegar and vinaigrettes, as well as maple beers, wines and other beverages, etc – into the middle-high and high income segments of the northern states U.S. market.

Marketing research is a key element that will allow us to obtain theinformation(collecting data), analyze information, identify any problem and propose solution, etc., all these elements are necessary to understand the market characteristics e.g. consumer preferences, income, markets growth, potential markets and consumers, etc.
A valuable marketing research is based in a proper handling of information, which will point out the information relevant to achieve ourobjectives and will help the managers to make the right decisions when designing business strategies to reach sales targets.

Problem definition:
A world with growing health concerns, there is a segment of the population that places a great importance in nutrition as a fundamental element to be healthy. These conscious consumers are constantly looking for better ways to feed themselves in order toavoid illness, and in general to have a better quality of life.
For these reasons, as mentioned above, maple products can be an excellent part of a healthy diet. In this sense, the challenge is to augment the consumer base of maple products by promoting maple benefits, and to create new maple-based products.
However, although the benefits of consuming natural products like maple syrup may beevident for a large segment of the population, only those with high purchasing power can incorporate those products in their diets in a regular basis.

Hypothesis generation:
A publicity campaign focused to highlight the health benefits of maple products can be a tool to convince a larger number of buyers to purchase our product, to achieve our goals and increase the sales.

The creation ofa simple storage distribution center in the U.S. market will help us to sale our maple products, save expenses and offer better services to consumers.

Secondary data is the most convenient source of information for our marketing research, because the study will be based on existing statistics such as total sales of maple syrup to the US market, the consumer profile, consumers’ income, shippingfees as well as the level of acceptance of maple products.

Analysis
The U.S. market represents 62% of total global sales of maple syrup and also it is the closest market to Canadian production points. This proximity to the U.S. market offers many advantages like reduction of transportation costs, speed of delivery and distribution, and the possibility to sell different maple products.
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