Procurement and sale of birch sap. How to sell rye bread, birch sap and fermented baked milk to the British? Telling about those who succeeded in Too few trees

To start with his own business idea, it took Alexei Gribin three years and 500,000 rubles. investment. The first batch of birch sap under the brand name "7 birches" appeared on sale only last year, but immediately became noticeable on the market.

Useful technology

To produce such a specific product as birch or maple sap, certain knowledge is required. They are even much more important than the necessary equipment. “For the fourth year now I have been engaged in this production at a fairly serious level, but I understand that I will get full knowledge on this issue, probably, only in three years,” says Gribin.

At first, Birch juice need to be assembled correctly. And in this case, there are many nuances. For example, Alexey Gribin collects extremely clear juice until a wound on the tree begins to ferment, and this is not so easy to do in the season - you need to do everything in three weeks. Therefore, Gribin improved the technology, which allows collecting for a whole month.

Secondly, you must try to keep the product you received and sell it. The simplest method, which most Russian manufacturers resort to, is preservatives: as insurance, they add sugar and citric acid to the juice. And then the juice is pasteurized, which will certainly reduce its value and change its taste. In Europe, amid increasing demand for sustainable and natural products manufacturers try to make juice without sugar. So Gribin has clearly decided for himself - you need to try to "keep" the natural taste of the juice as much as possible.

What does the technology of collecting birch sap, improved by Gribin, look like in modern conditions? From the outside, everything seems pretty simple. First you need to make a hole in the bark, and then fix a medical dropper in it and attach a medical tube to it, through which the juice will flow. In this case, everything must be sterile. The collected product is cleaned with an ultraviolet lamp and frozen in freezer in order to preserve useful properties.

The technology used by Aleksey Gribin is similar to that used in Canada and the United States for collecting maple sap. In the same countries, today they are actively developing the direction of harvesting birch sap. Europe has also joined the trend, which is still provided with juice for the most part by Latvia and Lithuania. But the small Baltic countries do not have unlimited resources for export. Russian manufacturers can also offer Europe their birch sap, Gribin is sure.

Tree scarcity

For a novice entrepreneur, the main task today is to organize a permanent farm for collecting sap, but this requires a forest. Only a small part of the trees that Gribin now uses belong to him, some volume of sap this year was brought by the pickers, about the use of other trees you have to negotiate with people or organizations directly. The issue with trees and, accordingly, with raw materials is becoming more acute every year, as production is gradually increasing.

“I have 15 hectares in mind, but this plot still needs to be obtained,” explains Aleksey Gribin the essence of the problem. “The fact is that all plots are allocated for a tender, so the fact that you have found a suitable plot does not mean that you will get it."

Another difficulty faced by a novice entrepreneur is the high rate of lease of land for the extraction of tree sap from the state in the Leningrad Region. You will now have to pay 11 rubles for a liter of juice. In Belarus, for example, it costs almost three times cheaper - 4 rubles. per liter of juice.

In order to remove some of the material burden from oneself, one could try to get government grants that are due to novice farmers. But in order to count on them, you need to meet a number of requirements, one of which is the official registration of people on the staff of the company. Alexey Gribin is in no hurry to use this opportunity, having his own reasons: “The money is allocated for five years, during which time most of it will be spent on salaries. Therefore, not everyone strives to receive these grants, even those who are developing well enough. "

The problem is that the very specifics of the business does not imply the hiring of permanent workers. The entire production process is divided into two stages: the first is the season when harvesting is in progress, the second is the sale, which is carried out throughout the year. Workers are needed just at the procurement stage. “This year the season lasted 2.5 months,” says the entrepreneur. - We started by collecting maple juice, and then took up birch. As a result, we managed to involve a fairly large number of people. "

A total of 10,000 bottles of birch sap and 1,000 maple sap were prepared. It could have been more, Gribin is sure, but so far he is trying to increase volumes gradually so that the product does not lose quality. “We plan to grow two to three times every year. I think it's real, ”says the entrepreneur. But the next few years will definitely be spent on bringing the production of the product to perfection.

Battle of juices

Two years ago, Alexey Gribin organized the first festival of birch sap, and in the summer of 2016 he gave the name to his farm - "Festival of birch sap", where he transferred all production assets. The initiative was supported by the Governor of the Leningrad Region and the head of the Vsevolozhsk District Administration. Now, together with the district, the entrepreneur organizes not only this festival, but also an event in Pereslavl-Zalessky. The purpose of such activities is to popularize birch sap and products derived from it among the population.

“It's hard to say whether the festival is promoting sales,” says Gribin. - Probably, to some extent it contributes, like any mass event. But the main task is to associate the birch sap festival with Russian traditions. " This year, within the framework of the festival, the world battle of birch syrups took place. People from different countries, including from America and Canada, sent birch syrups to the event. Gribin hopes that next year the battle will be even more interesting and that the competition for the best birch syrups he organizes will become the most significant event in the world among product manufacturers.

International interest

Birch sap is one of the few plant products harvested directly from trees that, with the right marketing and promotion strategy, could become a $ 2 billion business by 2025, said Juliana Mellentin, director of New Nutrition Business.

In Europe, birch sap is positioned as a good product to detoxify the body. And taking into account how yoga is now becoming popular in the world, there is a trend here for the promotion of all kinds of wood waters and drinks.

Many manufacturers are also represented on the Belarusian market. And some of them are quite successful. “There is a Belarusian product that is even exported to the States,” says Gribin. - But in general, Belarusians supply juices to Russia, although there is still not the product that I would like to see on store shelves - with sugar and citric acid... It is produced mainly by old factories with a Soviet past, which do not have the opportunity to rebuild production. "

Now Gribin's product under the brand name "7 birches" and "6 maples" is sold at farmers' markets and via the Internet. But this year, the entrepreneur plans to receive certificates for a new batch of juice, which will allow him to sell the product in stores and pharmacies. And he plans to enter foreign markets. “Maple syrup, which we make, is currently in the trend of import substitution for me,” says the entrepreneur. “So the challenge now is to find a good area of ​​the forest with a lot of maples.”

In many respects, the growing popularity of the brands of an entrepreneur from St. Petersburg today is facilitated by the great interest of the media in his business. Various publications endlessly write about the production of Alexei Gribin, and TV people shoot reports. Indeed, against the backdrop of success stories in the field of IT, food startups and other familiar businesses, this production story stands out especially.

In general, birch is considered a symbol of Russia, because this plant, known to every inhabitant of Russia, is widespread from the forest-steppe zone in the south of the country to the forest-tundra in the north and from the Atlantic seas to the Pacific Ocean. Who among us has not tasted birch sap? It seems that there are no such people. But this is not entirely true. If in Soviet times, birch sap was harvested by many forestry enterprises, then in our time such harvesting has practically been reduced to zero. But birch sap perfectly cleanses the blood and liver; the condition of patients with rheumatism and arthritis improves when taken. Even for the prevention of cancer, birch sap and chaga infusion are used. In addition, doctors often recommend that patients undergo a course of birch sap therapy in the postoperative period. Birch sap has also proven itself well as a means of promoting the elimination of heavy metals from the body.

Thus, the idea is not even reduced to something new, but simply to the restoration of a long-known topic - harvesting birch sap. And this business can be developed in various starting conditions. Of course, the best option would be to establish contacts with enterprises and entrepreneurs engaged in logging, farms, hunters, etc. Moreover, it is also desirable to have off-road vehicles. With such an organization and material support, it is possible to significantly increase the harvesting season, moving from south to north. Instead of 2-4 weeks, this period can be increased to 2-2.5 months. Naturally, having only a backpack and a container, it is impossible to provide such a scale. But even in this case, you can make good money on birch sap, because the average daily yield of sap from one tree is from 5 to 10 liters. And you yourself know very well the prices for natural juices. The largest volumes of sap harvesting can be provided in places where deforestation is planned.

It is advisable to agree on the sale of juice during the period of its harvesting in advance. The sale can be carried out through a retail network and through a system of cafes, restaurants, etc. Special attention should be paid to the storage and processing of juice. At temperatures up to 5 degrees Celsius, the juice is stored for 3-5 days. If you need to keep it longer, you can freeze it. Freezing provides storage up to 2-3 months. Further, this juice can be processed into kvass and wine, both ordinary and sparkling, which is sometimes called "champagne".

Considering all of the above, it remains only to wonder why “champagne” from Swedish birch sap has come to be quoted on the international market. Is the money received for this wonderful product superfluous for us? Look at its price. A bottle with a volume of 0.75 liters costs 327 Swedish kronor, which in recalculation gives approximately (depending on the course) 1,300 rubles. Moreover, here we are talking about the sale of only one final product. But in Russian sources there are many recipes for making both champagne and simple wine from birch sap. And that's not counting kvass. The emergence of these recipes cannot be considered an accident. The fact is that the preparation of this juice takes a very short time. And, as already noted, birch sap contains a large amount of vitamins and minerals necessary for our body. Therefore, for the possibility of a longer use of juice, it should be processed (we have already touched on the topic of storing juice). But everyone knows that any preservatives destroy a significant part of vitamins. Therefore, it is not surprising that the people have long existed ways to preserve this natural source of health. Fully processed juice can already be stored for more than one year, which ensures year-round marketing of the product.

Of particular note are the factors that negatively affect this business. Although these are self-evident, it should be noted that the harvesting of juice should be carried out in ecologically clean places. There are such places even near large cities. The only thing you need to pay attention to is that the harvesting site should be located upstream of the rivers from the city. Rivers also control the direction of movement of groundwater. Therefore, this criterion is sufficient to eliminate the possibility of getting into the waste collection area of ​​the city. It is also necessary to avoid procurement in the places of work of enterprises of the chemical, oil-extracting and oil-refining industries. And, of course, harvesting juice near highways and railways is also not recommended. But in such places, plants, most often, are oppressed. As we can see, it is quite simple to determine the places of harvesting birch sap. Storage and processing technologies are well described on the Internet, so I do not dwell on the details. We have enough natural resources so as not to worry about various crises, we just need to competently approach what we have.

On hotline TUT.BY received a message from a reader who argued that the Gomel forestry enterprise, when harvesting birch sap, barbarously refers to trees, which, moreover, are located on the territory of a botanical natural monument. The journalist of our portal went to the site and figured out why birches "cry" and what is the price of these tears.

And the reader was struck, as he writes, by the "barbaric method" of collecting birch sap, which the forestry prepares for sale: "The depth of the cuts with a chainsaw is up to 25 cm! And last year's cuts seem to reach the middle of the trunk. How is this possible? The penalty for the fact that a person will take juice without permission goes up to 3 million. All their lives, people have done it carefully, then close up places drilling. What is happening today in the leshozes? Save our birches! "

In addition to a photo, a video was attached to the letter.

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On the main page of the site of the Gomel forestry enterprise, an advertisement for the sale of birch sap immediately catches the eye. In the section "Manufactured products" he also appears along with "timber, wood chips, natural honey, a household broom and a bath broom".

I call Nikolay Russu- the forester of the Makeevsky forestry, on the territory of which the very rugged birches are located. He offers to go to the place to comment on the complaint there.

In the morning of the next day I go to the forestry. Before leaving for the plot where the juice is being collected, Nikolay Russu said that there really is a security zone in the place where the reader has visited. But the harvesting of birch sap is organized in a forest area that has nothing to do with it.

- Look: we are "tapping" in the 179th quarter, section 8,- he shows on the map. - And the natural monument, indicated by the dotted line, is located in a completely different quarter - in 164, section 10. The distance between the harvesting plot and the natural monument is at least 350 meters.

The forester said that when harvesting birch sap, the leshoz has the right to use trees only in areas that will be cut down in the coming years. In order not to be unfounded, he opened the magazine and showed: "Quarter 179, unit 8 - clearcut".

- In 2017, we are obliged to cut down the birches in question. Otherwise, it will be a violation of the rules for the use of forests,- he explained. - There are instructions that we strictly adhere to. Understand that these trees are over 80 years old. They will weaken and die. And before cutting down, we must reap the harvest. The forest cannot be eternal: we both cut down trees and plant new ones.

Nikolay Russu does not deny that the cuts on the birches were made with a chainsaw. He says this is provided for by the "Rules for the harvesting of secondary forest resources and the implementation of secondary forest use", which states that "when harvesting wood juices, it is allowed instead of drilling tapping holes to saw with a chainsaw without removing the bark".

- Where do you hand over birch sap?- I ask.

- Earlier, 5-6 years ago, we handed it over to the Gomel winery. Now there is such a situation that not a single plant in the Gomel region accepts it for processing. It is accepted in Brest, but if we begin to transport it there, it will lead to unjustified costs: the distance is long, fuel is not cheap, and juice is an inexpensive commodity. In addition, it would be necessary to hire cars with tanks - again, costs. Therefore, we sell the juice to the population right in the forest.

While we were driving along the M10 Gomel - Kobrin highway, Nikolay Russu told how this procedure is going.

It turns out that people in advance, back in February, call the forestry to sign up for the purchase of birch sap: they give their surname, how many liters they want to buy and leave their phone number. Thus, a large queue is formed.

As soon as the collection of the juice begins, the forestry workers call those who have signed up. Before picking up the juice directly from the plot, they must receive documents from the forestry for its purchase and export. In the forest they are met by a forester. He pours fresh juice from a plastic bag directly into the customer's container. As they say, everyone is happy: both the forestry, which does not incur additional costs when selling its products, and the buyer, who buys fresh juice without preservatives at a very favorable price - 1,100 rubles per liter. By the way, it has remained unchanged since last year.

- Feel the difference: either buy it in the store at a price of 14 thousand per liter, or much cheaper directly from under the birch- says the forester. - At the same time, the person himself sees that he did not buy water, not concentrate, but the most real fresh birch sap. We also sell juice at a price of 1,300 rubles per liter directly in the forestry. But we do this as an exception for grandmothers or disabled people who do not have their own transport. And the restwe give the coordinates of where to go. The forester is constantly on duty there, meets the buyer, who arrives in his car, checks the bill of lading issued to him in the forestry with the indication of the displacement, as well as the receipt of payment. That's the whole procedure - the buyer leaves with the juice.

The plan for collecting birch sap - 12 thousand liters per season - is fulfilled by Makeevskoe forestry without any problems.

-And all this is taking away the population?

- Yes, and we don't even have time to satisfy requests.

For those who want to harvest the juice themselves, without intermediaries, a special plot is allocated, Nikolai Russu said. Then the juice will cost a person and completely free. First, you need to tell how many liters you need, the forester will show you the birch trees, introduce you to the rules that you must adhere to when collecting. It remains to make holes on your own with a screwdriver and then guard the tree in order to then drain the juice from it into your container.

- And in what cases are they fined for collecting sap in the forest?

- When it is done at unauthorized cutting areas and not according to the rules. For example, someone decided to drill 20 holes around the barrel, while a maximum of four can be made. Fines for such violations are considerable - up to 20 basic units, which is more than 3.5 million rubles.

Soon we turned onto the road in the direction of the village of Tsykuny, in the area of ​​which there is a forest area, captured in photographs and videos by our reader. And here is the 164th quarter, which is indicated by the pointer as a natural monument.

After 300 meters we saw the very plot to which we were heading. Nikolay Russu once again drew attention to the fact that it has nothing to do with the natural monument.

We were met by a forester Sergey Yakovlev:

- A lot of people come here, the juice does not have time to drip, he smiles. - I have been working here for several years, from year to year the same people buy - both young and pensioners. At the same time, new ones are constantly being added. No one has ever complained about the quality of the juice, but they take it to cleanse the kidneys, to give children to drink with a pure product. Someone rolls it into cans, someone makes kvass.

The forester is on duty here all day long. He guards the plot, because, as he put it, there are barbarians who can tear the bags and take away the juice that has not been paid for.

This is how juice flows down the two grooves inside the plastic bag.

The forester says that the birches in this plot are more than 34 cm in diameter. According to the instructions, you can make three cuts on one tree, but they make two.

- Even if the tree has last year's cuts, this year we have the right to make them on the other side of the trunk. The main thing is that the distance between the upper cutting lines is at least 20 cm,- shows Nikolay Russa. - This is not an amateur, but a commercial harvesting of juice, and it follows the rules established throughout Belarus.So we respect both the distance between the cuts and their depth.

- Can you take juice from birches that are not planned to be cut down?

- Of course not. It is forbidden. We do not have the right to collect birch sap on plots that are not assigned to felling by the forest management company. In such areas of the forest, no one will touch the birch, not only with a chainsaw, but even with screwdrivers.

- Can you comment on the garbage dump in the forest?- I recall one more problem identified by our reader.

Nikolay Russu says that there really were mountains of garbage, but the workers of the Makeevsky forestry have already removed them.

- Our forestry is suburban, and garbage is a huge problem for us. In addition to the fact that there are many settlements near the forest, there are also about a dozen dacha cooperatives - about 5 thousand plots. Unfortunately, not all people are decent: someone throws garbage where it should be, and someone takes it to the forest, which is nearby,- he said.

From the interlocutor I learned another interesting news - soon the forestry is going to install three CCTV cameras in the forest in order to catch unclean people.

- Cameras are small in size, they can be disguised as a birdhouse or under a tree stump,- says Nikolay Russu. - But all the same, this will not solve the problem: we will catch someone, someone will not. The territory of the Makeevsky forestry is 8,240 hectares, and there are only 13 foresters. There is only one most effective way - to stop bringing unnecessary trash here.