Niche Products

#110 – Michael Farrell @ The Forest Farmers – Forest Farming The Most Regenerative Sweetener On Earth

August 11, 2025

On this episode, we’re going deep into the forest with Michael Farrell, Co-Founder of The Forest Farmers.

Michael and his team are managing over 10,000 acres of forest in New York and Vermont to produce what they believe to be the most regenerative sweetener on the planet.

You’ll hear how The Forest Farmers’ keep forests diverse and thriving, why maple syrup is nutritionally and environmentally superior to more popular, cheap sweeteners, and how brands can integrate maple ingredients into everything from beverages to baked goods.

We unpack how maple trees become a full suite of Regenerative Organic Certified® products — from sap to syrup to sugar — and how those ingredients are now powering a new generation of regenerative brands like Recoup, Wild Orchard, and Alec’s Ice Cream.

Michael also shares why only 1% of U.S. maple trees are tapped today, and how shifting consumer demand can change that.

Episode Highlights:

🍁 Making maple a leading regenerative organic ingredient

🍭 Maple sugar used to be the dominant sweetener in early American diets

🔍 Today’s mainstream syrups are often entirely artificial with no maple at all

🌳 Regeneratively managing over 10,000 acres of diverse forests

🛠️ Vacuum pumps, tubing grids, & gravity — how tree sap flows at scale

🇯🇲 The skilled Jamaican H2A team farming the forest

🎯 The nutritional and environmental advantage of maple-based ingredients

🧪 Process to taste — neutral sweetness or a bold maple profile for CPGs

💼 Supplying brands like Recoup, Wild Orchard, & Alec’s Ice Cream

🌲 The monster maple opportunity in both supply and demand