The Federation of Québec Maple Syrup Producers (FPAQ) has debuted a new brand image for Quebec maple syrup products as it looks to increase global sales for products from the province.

Working with KBS Montreal, the FPAQ created a new logo for maple syrup products and shortened its generic brand name from “Produits d’érable du Québec” to “Érable du Québec” in the Quebec market. Outside of the province and abroad, the generic brand name appears simply as “Maple from Canada.” The organization felt that the length of its former name hindered brand recognition.

The FPAQ represents Quebec’s roughly 7,300 maple businesses and helps market their products internationally. The province produces approximately 72% of the world’s maple syrup and represents around 90% of Canada’s maple syrup exports. Now, the FPAQ is pursuing further market development in the U.S., Japan, the U.K. and India – markets which it has been targeting for several years, in some cases – as it looks to increase its global maple syrup sales by 66% to 185 million litres annually by 2023. The FPAQ is also planning to open new markets in the future. 

Nathalie Langlois, the FPAQ’s director of promotion, innovation and market development, says creating a new brand image was needed to reinforce its position locally and expand its presence on international markets. She says the new branding is meant to help increase the value of perception of the product.

The FPAQ needed a “unified global image” on all its communication platforms, so it created a similar logo to be used across all its markets, Langlois says. Previously, the organization used logos that were tailored to individual countries. Langlois says the unified approach will create efficencies and help the FPAQ  optimize its marketing efforts, while keeping in mind the respective countries’ cultural influences.

The new logo incorporates the maple leaf image, which is well-known throughout the world, according to Langlois. Colour gradation was used to reference maple syrup’s four-tier grading system (golden, amber, dark and very dark), and the “maple” lettering is rounded to evoke the liquid nature of the product and its traditional tin can packaging.

While the product will be marketed as being “from Canada” on the international stage, Langlois says it’s important for the brand to maintain its connection to its Quebec origins. A TV campaign focused on those roots will launch in 2018. Other marketing efforts will be adapted and rolled out in every market outside of Canada over the course of the year.