Q & A
Sweet Business
Upper Montclair resident Robb Turner taps into maple syrup success
INTERVIEW BY LAURA ADAMS STIANSEN
Robb Turner
• Age: 55
• Resides in UPPER MONTCLAIR
• Owner of CROWN MAPLE, a certified
organic, 100 percent pure maple syrup
brand
• Fun Fact: MADAVA FARMS in
Dutchess County, N.Y., where Crown
Maple is produced, is named after
Turner’s daughters Madeline and Ava
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HOLIDAY 2017 MONTCLAIR MAGAZINE
MAPLE ON HIS MIND Robb Turner (with wife Lydia), a private equity executive, didn’t set out to
become a maple syrup producer. “I still consider it a hobby,” he says, “but I did love the idea that this
could be my family’s way to give back: to create a new and sustainable food business, to introduce
consumers to an old product, and to put my years of work in the energy business to use in a
completely new way.”
How did the name Crown Maple
come about? We chose Crown as
the name of our company to reflect
the importance of the tree’s crown to
maple production (the larger and full-
er the crown, the faster the growth of
the tree, and the more sap a tree can
produce), and also to denote a royal
quality of our premium product. It is
the perfect combination of two con-
cepts in one name.
Madava Farms has been pro-
ducing Crown Maple syrup
since 2010. Can you explain
how production has changed
from that first year? The key dif-
ference between our first season and
today is mostly one of size. Our first
season we had 15,000 taps and today
we have more than 120,000 taps,
and we are the No. 3 maple producer
in the USA and New York’s No. 1
maple producer.
You use sustainable practices
at the Crown Maple facilities.
Why is this so important to
your business? Protecting and
preserving nature and enhancing the
environment are some of the core
drivers for why Crown Maple was
originally formed. We tap our maple
trees in accordance with industry
best practices and those standards
published by the Northeast Organic
Farmer Association-New York
(NOFA-NY). We can tap a maple
tree with a 9-inch diameter using a
single spout or tap; two spouts can
>
FARMS:
What made you venture into
the maple syrup business?
The land now known as The Crown
Maple Estate, Madava Farms, was
originally purchased for pleasure,
as a weekend retreat for my fam-
ily. One day while walking in the
woods, a neighbor asked me what
I intended to do with all the maple
on the property, and at that time, I
didn’t fully understand what treasure
the property held. Following a review
of the maple industry, speaking with
producers, talking with experts and
technology providers, I determined
there was indeed an opportunity to
build a world-class maple operation.
The greatest realization about the
consumer markets and potential for
maple came from my wife Lydia, who
experimented in the kitchen and felt
that pure maple was the most flavor-
ful sweetener she had ever used in
her cooking. Introducing a premium,
select quality maple seemed the
right fit for the land (preservation),
the environment (sustainable), the
community (jobs, a place to enjoy,
pride), and, ultimately, the consum-
ers who enjoy Crown Maple as one of
the most versatile ingredients in the
kitchen.