Purchase of birch sap from the population. How to sell rye bread, birch sap and fermented baked milk to the British? We tell about those who succeeded

Birch juice loved by many people in our country. It is very useful for the body, as it contains the substances it needs, and even in a balanced amount. By consuming Birch juice you can easily improve your health and, most importantly, satisfy your need for vitamins.

It seems that every inhabitant of Russia has tasted birch sap. Earlier, back in Soviet times, it was made by forestry enterprises. Nowadays, it is rare to find a company that produces birch sap. It is much more profitable to release carbonated water or alcohol.

But Birch juice it perfectly cleanses the blood, it is drunk for the prevention of oncology, in the postoperative period, it improves the condition of patients with arthritis and rheumatism, and also removes heavy metals from the body.

So harvesting birch sap and its further sale is a great way to make money, especially if you revive in the memory of people the knowledge about its benefits and positive qualities.

The best option for a novice entrepreneur is to establish contacts with enterprises that are engaged in logging, with hunters, farms, and so on.

You will also need to purchase high-traffic vehicles. Even if you just collect the juice on your own, you can earn decent money - you can get up to 10 liters from one tree per day. And if you swing and create a whole enterprise for the procurement and sale of birch sap, then the income will be very, very high. Prices on natural juices are high now, so the idea is promising.

In advance, you must find ways to market the products. You can sell juice through retail chains, restaurants, cafes, and so on.

You must pay maximum attention to the processing and storage of the finished juice. After all, even if it is stored at temperatures below 5 degrees Celsius, the shelf life is no more than 5 days.

Therefore, if you want to save it for a longer amount of time, then you need to freeze it. You can win up to three months this way. After that, the juice is often processed into wine or kvass. In this way, finished products you can sell all year round.

Pay attention to the place harvesting birch sap... After all, factors such as the proximity of large factories, highways, railways can negatively affect the quality of products.

In general, birch is considered a symbol of Russia, for 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. And 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 proven itself very 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 began 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 the 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 mineral substances required by 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 people have long had ways to preserve this natural source of health. Fully processed juice can 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.

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. necessary equipment... “I have been engaged in this production at a fairly serious level for the fourth year already, but I understand that I will get full knowledge on this issue, probably, only in three years,” says Gribin.

First, birch sap needs to be harvested correctly. And in this case, there are many nuances. For example, Alexey Gribin collects extremely clear juice until the 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 the growing demand for organic and natural products, producers are trying 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. Moreover, everything must be sterile. The collected product is cleaned using an ultraviolet lamp and frozen in the freezer in order to preserve its beneficial 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 starting to develop the direction of harvesting birch sap. Europe has also joined the trend, which is currently provided with juice for the most part by Latvia and Lithuania. But the small Baltic countries do not have unlimited resources for export. Russian producers can also offer their birch sap to Europe, Gribin is sure.

Tree scarcity

For a budding 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 uses now belong to him, some of the sap this year was brought by the pickers, and the use of other trees has to be negotiated with people or organizations directly. The issue with trees and, accordingly, with raw materials becomes 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 receive 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.

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 take advantage of 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 takes place, 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 sap, and then we took up birch sap. 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, Aleksey Gribin organized the first birch sap festival, and in the summer of 2016 he gave the name to his farm - "Birch Sap Festival", 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 other 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-based products sourced directly from trees that, with the right marketing and promotion strategy, could become a $ 2 billion business by 2025, says 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 ability 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 in the trend of import substitution now,” says the entrepreneur. “Therefore, 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.

Every year, for one and a half to two spring weeks, the forestry of our country harvests about 20 thousand tons of birch sap. The population is not lagging behind either. Many in different ways try to stock up on a "live" drink for future use, and someone manages to make money on it. And it is quite legal.

It turned out to be quite easy to get a job in Logoisk forestry enterprise for seasonal work. There, local residents are hired under contracts.

But it is necessary to fulfill daily rate- to collect at least 180 liters, - instructs the forester of the Kozyr forestry Alexander Grischenya, seeing off to the plot. - The calculations are simple: for each liter, according to the results of work, you will receive 140 rubles. The fulfillment of the norm guarantees another 20 percent of the total amount.

I confess, despondency overcomes. Scanty prices! Moreover, try to "squeeze" these nearly 2 quintals of liquid from a birch per day!

I am getting to know my team. These are residents of the surrounding villages. They were given a plot of 12.2 hectares. It took them two days to prepare - they had to make cuts in the marked trees, drive in metal grooves, and tie up plastic bags.

The work is monotonous, - recalls 37-year-old Vladimir. - On the hundredth birch head began to spin.

The number of holes depends on the diameter of the tree (20-26 cm - one, 27-34 cm - two, 35-40 cm - three, more than 40 cm - four). The holes are either drilled with a drill, or cut with a saw to a depth of no more than 2-3 centimeters, without taking into account the thickness of the bark. A stainless steel groove or freshly cut shoot of hazel, maple, linden is inserted into the prepared hole. A plastic bag is tied under the groove. Juice from containers must be taken at least 1 time per day.

In total, about 600 birches have been tied up on our plot, 1200 packages are tied to them. They turn white at the roots of trees, visible from afar. The next round shows that some containers are almost full to capacity. So it's time to go to work.

A tractor with a barrel-trailer is making its way through the glades with an effort. Our task is to untie full bags from trees and bring them to the tractor. Then the juice goes into the barrel, from where, as it is filled, it is pumped with the help of a motor pump into a stationary container at the “base” - a platform in the middle of the forest. And already from there the drink, by agreement with the forestry enterprise, will be taken by transport from the nearest processing enterprise.

A plastic bag tied to a birch can hold up to 40 liters of juice. In principle, it is not very difficult for two to lift and move it several meters. The main thing is not to break it on the boughs of the bushes. In just 15 minutes, I easily and naturally fulfill the minimum daily norm of 184 liters. Then, as they say, I work for myself. We fill a three-ton trailer barrel within an hour. I quickly calculate in my head: my “share” is 500 liters. I mentally put 84 thousand rubles in my pocket. Not much? For now.

The gifts of nature are quickly distilled from the trailer into a stationary container, and we again go for bags. You shouldn't hesitate. The more the sun is hot, the more actively the sap circulates through the birches. On hills and open places, it flows from the grooves, as from moonshine still in the notorious film, just have time to substitute the container. This means that every minute of delay deprives us of our hard-earned money.

In the distance, on a forest road, someone is desperately honking. Our clients got lost. Residents of Minsk and other settlements are in a hurry to stock up on fresh "fresh" and storm our base. They paid for the receipts in the forestry office, and our task is to buy them “according to the purchased tickets”.

Eduard came from Minsk. In the trailer of his car there are various-sized cans and barrels. I paid for 450 liters of juice.

Most good way keep the juice until autumn - make kvass out of it, - the guest shares the recipe. - I pour the drink into plastic bottles, add a few raisins to each one, put it in the chill. After a week or two, a refreshing drink is ready.

Alexander and his wife Marina are from Borovlyan. They traveled 40 kilometers from home for 50 liters of spring fluid. Lost a lot of time. They burned a lot of fuel. Conducted an unplanned crash test on a hilly forest road. Was it worth the candle? It turned out that the process is important to them. Themselves briskly walk between the birches, looking for a "better food" bag, pouring it into the canister with their own hands. We are in a good mood, we urge:

Would choose a birch tree near the house and squeeze these liters out of it!

You know, I'm better off officially. It will be cheaper ...

Indeed, the risk is not worth it. Alexander Grischenya warns that in accordance with the Administrative Code for violation of the rules for procurement of juice, a fine of up to 4.2 million rubles is envisaged. On the basis of the same Logoisk forestry, a liter of juice costs only 1,500 rubles. So is it really worth the risk?

The guests are leaving, and it's time for us to get to work. We start the tractor, go to the forest.

From morning until the end of the day, our team manages to procure 12 tons of juice. Moreover, this is not the limit. The hottest days are ahead. Counting profits. It turns out that I earned 336 thousand rubles per day. On average, the period of sap flow lasts 12-14 days, which means that the average purveyor can count on an extra earnings of about 4 million rubles. As a bonus - the ability to drink a birch tree even in liters, as they say, without leaving the checkout.

I cannot say that I am overworked. Periods of intense work give way to long rest, when you can just sit, take a breath, talk with companions for life. Each of them has their own plans for additional earnings.

Old-timers from forestry workers remember that earlier it was not only honorable, but also very profitable to get a job as a procurer of birch sap. Foresters are still being temporarily transferred to the positions of fellers in order to have the right to engage in logging. Why not, if help is appreciated?

The guys from my brigade will come back to the plot the next day at dawn. When the harvesting season is over, they still have to put things in order and heal the wounded birch trees.

According to the rules, after the end of collecting the juice, the grooves must be removed, and the holes must be closed with wooden plugs or covered with pitch, garden ointment, clay with lime or resin containing 20 percent of charcoal. This will prevent tree diseases. The forest teaches us to live more than one day.

Opinion

Elena Andreeva, head of the department of the canning industry of the Belgospischeprom concern:

“Every year, our processing enterprises buy from forestry enterprises up to 95 percent of all harvested birch sap - from 15 to 20 thousand tons per year. As a result, we get about 40 million conventional cans of the finished product, which is bottled in glass containers, tetrapacks, PET bottles and backing boxes of various sizes.

Birch sap is the most popular drink from our citizens. The demand is so great that practically all canneries are involved in processing it during the season. The product is sent for export - to Russia, Lithuania. Even in the United States, in recent years, birch has been making a splash, competing with coconut water, which has long been loved by Americans. However, the export volumes are small: the drink is actively bought up on the domestic market.

And this is not surprising. Indeed, of all the juices produced by our enterprises, it is birch juice that is the most valuable in its useful properties and taste... Moreover, the greatest demand is for pure birch, without additives, only with sugar.

There is an opinion that glass containers for bottling juice are outdated technology. This is not true.

First, glass is considered the most environmentally friendly packaging. Secondly, the shelf life of the drink in glass jar reaches 2 years (in a tetra pack - no more than 1 year). Thirdly, a consumer can visually assess the quality of a product only in a transparent glass jar or bottle.

One of the main tasks is to keep the maximum amount of juice in the juice. nutrients... That is why some of the raw materials in factories are placed in aseptic containers or aseptic storage bags in order to supply retail outlets with fresh products also in the off-season. In a vacuum and completely closed environment, fresh birch trees can be stored for several months.