Where they sell birch sap. Is it possible to make the preparation of birch sap an additional seasonal income? Labeling and transportation of juice

In general, birch is considered a symbol of Rus', 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 seas of the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean. And who among us has not tried birch sap? It seems that there are no such people. But this is not entirely true. If in Soviet times many forestry enterprises harvested birch sap, in our time such harvesting has practically vanished. But birch sap perfectly cleanses the blood and liver; the condition of patients with rheumatism and arthritis improves when it is taken. Even for the prevention of cancer, birch sap and chaga infusion are used. Doctors, in addition, often recommend that patients undergo a course of birch sap therapy in the postoperative period. Birch sap has also proved to be excellent as a means of facilitating the removal of heavy metals from the body.

Thus, the idea comes down not even 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 involved 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, you can increase this period to 2-2.5 months. Naturally, having only a backpack and a container, it is impossible to provide such a scope. But even in this case, you can make good money on birch sap, because the average daily output of juice from one tree is from 5 to 10 liters. And you yourself know very well the prices for natural juices. The largest volumes of juice 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 preparation in advance. Sales can be carried out through a distribution network and through a system of cafes, restaurants, etc. Particular 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 store longer, you can freeze it. Freezing provides storage for up to 2-3 months. Further, this juice can be processed into kvass and wine, both regular and sparkling, which is sometimes called "champagne".

Given all of the above, one can only 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 terms of gives approximately (depending on the exchange rate) 1300 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 appearance of these recipes cannot be considered an accidental phenomenon. The fact is that the harvesting of this juice takes a very short time. And, as already noted, birch sap contains a large amount of vitamins and minerals needed 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 juice storage). But everyone knows that any preservatives destroy a significant part of the vitamins. Therefore, it is not surprising that the people have long had ways to preserve this natural source of health. Fully processed juice can already be stored for more than one year, which ensures year-round sales of products.

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 environmentally friendly places. Such places are even near large cities. The only thing you need to pay attention to is that the place of harvesting 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 zone of the city. It is also necessary to avoid harvesting in the places of work of enterprises of the chemical, oil-producing 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 where birch sap is harvested. Storage and processing technologies are well described on the Internet, so I do not dwell on the details in more detail. We have enough natural wealth not to worry about various crises, we just need to competently approach what we have.

Every year, for one and a half to two spring weeks, the forestry enterprises of our country harvest about 20 thousand tons of birch sap. The population is not far behind. Many in different ways try to stock up on a “live” drink for the future, and someone manages to earn money on it. And quite legally.

It turned out to be quite simple to get a seasonal job in the Logoisk forestry. They hire local residents under contract contracts.

But it is necessary to fulfill the daily norm - to collect at least 180 liters, - instructs the forester of the Kozyrsky forestry Alexander Grishchenya, seeing him off to the plot. - Calculations are simple: for each liter at the end of the work, you will receive 140 rubles. Compliance with the norm guarantees another 20 percent of the total amount.

I confess, overcomes despondency. Miserable rates! Yes, even try to “squeeze out” these almost 2 centners of liquid per day from a birch!

Meet 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 on the marked trees, drive in metal grooves, tie up plastic bags.

The work is monotonous,” recalls 37-year-old Vladimir. - On the hundredth birch, the 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). Holes are either drilled with a drill or sawn 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 a 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 were drained in our plot, 1200 packages were tied to them. They turn white at the roots of trees, visible from afar. Another bypass shows that some containers are almost full to capacity. So it's time to go to work.

A tractor with a barrel-trailer makes its way along the clearings with an effort. Our task is to untie full packages from trees and bring them to the tractor. Then the juice goes to the barrel, from where, as it fills up, 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 from there, by agreement with the forestry, the drink will be taken by transport from the nearest processing plant.

A plastic bag tied to a birch can hold up to 40 liters of juice. In principle, it is not very difficult to lift and move it a few meters together. The main thing is not to break it on the branches of the bushes. In just 15 minutes, I easily and naturally fulfill the minimum daily allowance of 184 liters. Then, as they say, I work for myself. Within an hour we fill a three-ton trailer barrel. I quickly calculate in my mind: my “share” is 500 liters. I mentally put 84,000 rubles in my pocket. Not much? For now.

The gifts of nature are quickly distilled from the trailer to a stationary container, and we again go for bags. It's not worth delaying. The stronger the sun bakes, the more actively the juice circulates through the birches. On hills and open places, it flows from the grooves, like from a moonshine still in the notorious movie, just have time to substitute the container. So, every minute of delay deprives us of blood.

In the distance, on the forest road, someone frantically honks. It's our customers who got lost. Residents of Minsk and other settlements rush to stock up on “fresh” for future use and storm our base. They paid the receipts at the forestry office, and our task is to sell them “according to the purchased tickets”.

Eduard came from Minsk. In the trailer of his car, various-sized canisters and kegs. Paid for 450 liters of juice.

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

Alexander and his wife Marina are from Borovlyany. They went 40 kilometers from home for 50 liters of spring liquid. Lost a lot of time. Burned a lot of fuel. Carried out an unplanned crash test of the car on a bumpy forest road. Was the game worth the candle? It turned out that the process is important to them. They themselves cheerfully walk between the birches, looking for a “more nutritious” package, pouring it into a canister with their own hands. We are in a good mood, we urge:

They would choose a birch near the house and squeeze these liters out of it!

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

Really not worth the risk. Alexander Grishchenya warns that, in accordance with the Code of Administrative Offenses, a fine of up to 4.2 million rubles is provided for violating the rules for harvesting juice. 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 work. We start the tractor, we go to the forest.

From morning until the end of the day, our team manages to prepare 12 tons of juice. And this is not the limit. The hottest days are ahead. I'm counting the profits. It turns out that he earned 336 thousand rubles a day. On average, the sap flow lasts 12-14 days, which means that the average harvester can count on additional earnings in the amount of about 4 million rubles. As a bonus - the ability to drink at least liters of birch, as they say, without leaving the cash register.

Can't say I'm overworked. Periods of hard work are replaced by long rest, when you can just sit, take a breath, talk with companions about life. Each of them has their own plans for additional earnings.

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

The guys from my brigade will come to the plot again at dawn the next day. When the harvesting season is over, they still have to clean up after themselves and heal the wounded birches.

According to the rules, after collecting the juice, the grooves must be removed, and the holes 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 to live more than one day.

Opinion

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

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

Birch sap is the most popular drink among our citizens. The demand is so great that during the season almost all canning factories are involved in its processing. The product is exported 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, export volumes are small: the drink is actively bought up in 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 terms of its useful properties and taste. Moreover, it is pure birch that is most in demand, without additives, only with sugar.

There is an opinion that glass containers for bottling juice are an outdated technology. This is wrong.

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

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

Thirty-five-year-old graduate of the Mechanics and Mathematics Department of St. Petersburg University, Alexei Gribin, has been collecting birch sap since childhood on a summer cottage of 35 acres in the village of Voeykovo in the Leningrad region. Four years ago, he bought a bottle of birch sap in one of the cafes. He did not like the taste: "Water with sugar and citric acid, not birch sap."

It was then that the indignant Gribin decided to produce birch sap not only for his own use, but also for sale: people need to know what a real birch drink is. In 2013, the entrepreneur resigned from the position of chief specialist in the committee for energy and engineering support of the administration of St. Petersburg and created the 7 birches company. And last year, he started brewing maple syrup under the 6 Maples brand.

Investments new business required minimal. Gribin bought 60 five-liter cans of water for several thousand rubles, poured water out of them (it was convenient to collect juice in them) and another 30,000 rubles. spent on organizing a festival of birch sap in the Vsevolozhsk district of the Leningrad region. The technology was elementary - Gribin hung five-liter bottles on trunks in his dacha (he has 70 birches) and in the forest next door. Later, he expanded the grove to almost 400 trunks, having agreed with the Geophysical Laboratory located nearby. A. I. Voeikova. “In America, juice is harvested right in the parks,” says Gribin.

If in 2013 the revenue of 7 Birches amounted to only a few tens of thousands of rubles, then in 2015 it increased 10 times to 600,000 rubles. The product turned out to be quite in demand, says Gribin. And the net profit margin is about 30%. Last year, Gribin collected 10 tons of juice, and this year he plans to collect four times as much - if he finds the right number of trees: on average, 3 liters of juice can be collected from one tree per day.

Dropper and ultraviolet

Gribin makes a hole in the bark of a tree, inserts a disposable medical dropper into it, then attaches a sterile medical tube to it. Several of these tubes, going at an angle from different trunks, are connected into one larger one, the juice flows into the canister. Then the entrepreneur cleans the collected liquid with a special ultraviolet lamp and freezes it in a freezer (Gribin has previously frozen mushroom berries for his own use in large quantities). Freezing is considered to be the optimal processing method in terms of costs and preservation of useful properties, says Anatoly Gavrilyuk, CEO of Absolute Nature Group of Companies (“Live Juices”). Other options are sterilization or pasteurization at a temperature of 70-80 ° C, followed by the manufacture of a concentrate.

Juice of the fatherland

According to the Union of Producers of Non-Alcoholic Drinks and Mineral Waters, the capacity of the soft drinks market in 2015 amounted to 6 billion liters. However, birch sap, according to Anatoly Gavrilyuk from Absolute Nature, accounts for less than 1%.

The service life of the juice pipeline is short - about three weeks, then you have to change the tubes for new sterile ones. Gribin spied the idea of ​​such a system on the Internet from Canadian and American farmers.

There are only 3-4 producers of birch sap in Russia, estimates Mikhail Chetvertakov, general director of Dobrye Vody company (which has been producing birch sap since 1998). And a company with a sales volume of birch drink of 1 million rubles. per year is considered a major producer, say Gavrilyuk and Chetvertakov.

In the Soviet Union, birch sap was produced in large quantities and was inexpensive, and because of this, the consumer still considers this drink to be second-rate, comments Anatoly Gavrilyuk, CEO of Absolute Nature Group (“Live Juices”). But abroad, birch sap is considered a fashionable organic product and is not cheap, the expert says. For example, a 250 ml bottle of juice on Amazon.com costs about 830 rubles in terms of rubles. And 0.5 liters of birch sap "7 birches" costs 100 rubles.

festival channel

The main sales channel is mass events and festivals. An active political life helped Gribin to establish supplies. He ran in municipal elections twice as a self-nominated candidate. Both attempts ended in failure, but Gribin managed to get acquainted with the governor of the Leningrad region Alexander Drozdenko. And when, in the spring of 2014, Gribin decided to organize the first birch sap festival on the territory of the Geophysical Laboratory. A. I. Voeikov, he turned for support to Drozdenko and the head of the administration of the Vsevolozhsk district, Vladimir Drachev. And they supported him - as the initiator of an interesting cultural and patriotic event. Gribin built his own branded juice pipeline and poured juice from a tree into plastic cups for approaching festival guests. All Gribin's expenses (about 30,000 rubles) paid off through sales. Gribin expects that more than 1,000 people will come to the festival this year.

At another festival “Oh yes! Food!" in June 2015, on Elagin Island, Gribin earned 110,000 rubles in two days, having paid a participation fee of 40,000 rubles. According to Gribin, the benefit of fairs and festivals is that the sale of products from personal subsidiary plots is not taxed and does not require the use of cash registers. True, it is necessary to provide documents on quality. Gribin has them: birch sap has passed laboratory tests and received the conclusion of Rospotrebnadzor (a copy is available from Vedomosti).

Canadian chef and Russian syrup

In 2015, Gribin began experimenting with other natural products - birch and maple syrups. According to Gribin, it was unprofitable to cook maple syrup three years ago: it was cheaper to buy from Canadian and American producers. But the devaluation of the ruble gave the entrepreneur a chance. He borrowed recipes from colleagues from Canada and the USA. At first, he cooked syrups on a stove from juice collected in the same grove, but this was ineffective, Gribin admits. Now he uses a custom-made juicer. To obtain 1 liter of maple syrup, you need 40–70 liters of juice, and for 1 liter of birch syrup, 60–150 liters. Now Gribin can process up to 1000 liters of juice per day.

According to the entrepreneur, in the summer of 2015, at the food festival, Alexander Belkovich, the brand chef of the Ginza Project restaurant holding, contacted the entrepreneur. Now Gribin is negotiating with Ginza about regular deliveries and hopes to be in time for Shrovetide. A Ginza spokesman confirmed the talks. This year, the entrepreneur also plans to sell 100 liters of maple syrup at farmers' markets.

Now 150 g of syrup "6 maples" costs 300 rubles. - 1.5-2 times lower than the imported product, says Gribin. And the other day, says Gribin, the chef of the restaurant at the Grand Hotel Europe, Canadian Ian Minnis, became interested in maple syrup. The hotel representative confirmed the planned meeting between Minnis and Gribin. Almost all of Gribin's revenue comes from retail, but he expects to increase the share of restaurants. But first, Gribin will have to certify the products.

Too few trees

Last summer, Gribin traveled to the first international conference of birch sap and syrup producers in New York State. And there he came up with the idea to supply products to the foreign market. Back in the summer, the Slovak smoothie producer Acaimania wanted to buy a batch of juice, but the entrepreneur did not have enough. Birch sap is also used in the production of cosmetics, but manufacturers need a certificate of organic origin for Gribin's products. “The problem is that in Russia so far there are no such standards at all. I even applied to Opora Rossii,” he says.

This year, Gribin hopes to receive European quality certificates, and now he is registering his business as a peasant farm. He wants to rent a forest in the Leningrad region, but it is expensive and eats up profits, the farmer says. According to government decree No. 310 of May 22, 2007 “On the rates of payment for a unit of forest resources and the rates of payment for a unit of area of ​​a federally owned forest plot”, he will be forced to pay a fee of 10 rubles per liter of birch sap. in the Leningrad region. “If I cannot defeat the system and change this rule, then I will go to work in another region,” says Gribin. The growth prospects for an entrepreneur in Russia are limited. To become a major producer, you need large stocks of raw materials, i.e. trees, says Gavrilyuk.

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 drinking birch sap, you can easily improve your health and, most importantly, satisfy the need for vitamins.

It seems that every inhabitant of Russia has tried birch sap. Previously, back in Soviet times, it was made by forestries. Now, it is not often possible to meet a company that produces birch sap. It is much more profitable to produce carbonated water or alcohol.

But Birch juice excellently 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.

That's why birch sap harvesting and its further sale is a great way to earn money, especially if you revive the knowledge of its benefits and positive qualities in people's memory.

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 vehicles with high cross-country ability. Even if you just collect the juice yourself, you can make decent money - you can get up to 10 liters from one tree per day. And if you take a swing and create an entire enterprise for the preparation and sale of birch sap, then the income will be very, very high. Prices for natural juices are high now, so the idea is promising.

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

You should pay maximum attention to the process of processing and storing 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 keep it for a longer amount of time, then you need to freeze it. So you can win up to three more months. After that, the juice is often processed into wine or kvass. Thus, you can sell finished products all year round.

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