In Edible-Alpha® podcast #101, FFI’s Brad Rostowfske interviews Bree Breckel and Eric Weninger of B&E’s Trees, a certified-organic maple farm near Viroqua, Wisconsin. Along with tapping trees, the couple makes a value-added product, B&E’s Trees Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup, and is launching a new consumer-facing brand, Embark Maple.

When Bree and Eric bought their 184-acre farm in 2011, their main goal was to live off the grid while doing fulfilling physical work outdoors. If they could make and sell enough maple syrup to pay the mortgage, they’d be happy. But when their first go at it, in 2012, happened to be the worst maple syrup season on record in Wisconsin, they realized they needed a value-added component. So in 2013, they began collaborating with local Central Waters Brewing, which provides B&E’s Trees with bourbon barrels to age their syrup in for two years, then uses the maple-soaked barrels to age its Maple Barrel Stout.

As their business took off, Bree and Eric realized they wanted to remain a family-sized farm and keep doing the physical labor they loved. So, with about 5,000 taps in their trees, they stepped up their partnerships with other local farmers, businesses and retailers to add more resilience to their supply chain and business model.

When the COVID-19 pandemic sidelined their usual travel and events plans, Bree and Eric pivoted into another value-added project. Years prior, Eric had the genius idea of offering maple syrup in resealable, packable pouches for adventure races and endurance events. Suddenly having more bandwidth, the two set to work creating the product and building a brand around it. They partnered with a mission-aligned co-packer and got their retail partners excited about bringing in Embark Maple Energy in May 2021.

But then, a few weeks after production, just as Embark pouches were to be sent out the door, Bree and Eric discovered their packaging wasn’t up to spec—meaning they’d have no product to sell. Having sunk two years’ worth of farm production to meet minimum order quantity, they feared they’d lose the farm and business.

Yet they remained calm and soldiered on. Bree and Eric attended several races to hand out prototypes, network and build brand awareness for Embark while working closely with their co-packer to remedy the issue. Revenue from their Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup has carried the business through this crazy period, underscoring the benefits of a diversified business model.

As for funding, Bree and Eric had received a value-added producer grant (VAPG) to propel their brand-building efforts just before the pandemic hit. They had to pivot their spending of that money, which actually proved beneficial by helping them streamline their marketing and communications. They recently decided to keep B&E’s Trees as the farm name but rebrand all of their products as Embark, and they’re now bringing that brand to life.

Wrapping up, Bree and Eric discuss navigating their finances through a year where things didn’t go as planned, as well as how their two separate-but-intertwined business models work in their favor. They share a few lessons they’ve learned while scaling their business and offer advice for other farmers exploring value-added and launching consumer-facing brands.