Maple is a sustainable North American agricultural crop and has a unique chemical composition with micronutrients and phytonutrients that have potential health benefits. However, consumers choose other sweeteners 99% of the time.
The Collaborative to Communicate Maple Benefits at The University of Rhode Island is encouraging consumers to switch to maple, the ‘smarter sweetener,’ by increasing consumer awareness of maple benefits, including its sustainability, versatility, and potential health benefits.
Our Team
The Maple Collaborative has an interdisciplinary team of researchers from The University of Rhode Island Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business and Pharmacy.
Research Associate II
Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy
401.874.7654
hang_ma@uri.edu
The Maple Collaborative is:
- translating the latest maple research into curated content on a mobile-friendly web portal so it is easier for health-conscious consumers and journalists to find, understand, and share;
- promoting maple as a ‘natural, versatile, and sustainable functional food’ through an integrated campaign, which includes targeted social media and point of sale materials;
- creating a Maple Promotion League that utilizes student ambassadors for a grassroots engagement at festivals and farmers’ markets, collaborates with stakeholders, the International Maple Syrup Institute, North American Maple Syrup Council, and the Federation of Maple Syrup Producers of Quebec, and provides marketing tools to help producers, entrepreneurs, and hobbyists position and sell maple products to consumers. By inviting stakeholders to join the League, Maple Collaborative will amplify the campaign’s reach – maximizing its immediate and long-term impact on consumer awareness of maple benefits and subsequent demand for maple products.
Maple Hub
As the hub for information about maple benefits, and creator of marketing tools for the coordinated promotion of benefits by stakeholders, the Maple Collaborative will increase primary demand and sales of maple products.
Acknowledgement
Funding for this project was made possible by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service through grant AM180100XXXXG156. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the USDA.
Web Development
Web development for this project is in part provided by The University of Rhode Island Academic Health Collaborative Resource Center. Further design and maple information provided by April Denn, Joanna Olaoye, Luisa Santos, and Jahaziel Zapata.