About us | BRIX and Érablière au Boisé du Lac
BRIX AND THE ÉRABLIÈRE AU BOISÉ DU LAC ARE TWO INSEPARABLE COMPANIES: YOU CAN’T HAVE ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER!
BRIX was born and developed at our sugar bush. The sugar bush benefits from BRIX’s exceptional drive to entice you with all of its maple products and lure you to its beautiful trails, where you can run or walk. It’s a great way for us to be in direct contact with our customers and introduce you to the people behind BRIX products! Take advantage of the opportunity to drop by and pick up your products at the sugar bush. It will be our pleasure to welcome you
How did it all start?
With a dream, still very much alive, to share with you our great passion for sports and maple syrup production.
This passion for maple syrup production began in 2005 after acquiring a small plot of land on Mount Yamaska in Saint-Paul-d’Abbotsford. After working in maple syrup production for several years, Mario Plouffe, owner of Érablière au Boisé du Lac, was looking for a way to combine all of his passions into one project.
Many ideas came to mind! How could he share his dreams and make people discover the benefits of maple syrup? How could he get people, especially younger ones, into running and the triathlon?
Sure enough, in 2013, his drive led him to instinctively open up trails on his land and make them available to those who wanted to enjoy nature and trail running. Since that day, the Club de Trail Érablière au Boisé du Lac was born. Members run for free twice a week: Wednesday evenings at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday mornings at 8:30 a.m. We believe that access to outdoor sports activities should not be limited for anyone.
In 2014, BRIX was born!
We dared to think outside the box of conventional maple products by creating an energy gel made from 100% natural maple syrup. At that time, no one was thinking or talking about maple as an energy source. Mario Plouffe, founder of BRIX, had already been using it for quite some time in his workouts. Being an endurance sports enthusiast, he thought it was evident that an energy gel based on maple syrup was a good alternative to conventional gels, which sometimes not only had a questionable taste, but also ingredients that left something to be desired.
We tested it for trail and triathlon running until 2015 before releasing our products on the market. The feedback from athletes was unanimous! This energy source works very well and tastes heavenly! Since then, the infatuation with this energy source has been growing.
In 2017, Mario went big by allocating a good portion of his maple syrup harvest to sponsoring Montreal’s marathon. It was a bold move to sacrifice his main source of income to a sponsorship. But you have to believe in your ideas and stick with them to the end. As a result, BRIX became the first Quebec gel company to supply energy to more than 250,000 runners for the Montreal marathon.
The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers even promoted “the amazing maple,” emphasizing the energy provided. Over time, BRIX continued to perfect its maple gel with new flavours, one of which has been a unanimous hit in the market, Maple and Himalayan Salt. Since maple syrup contains only 4 mg of sodium per 38 g serving, it was important to add more sodium to our maple syrup. During extended physical activity on a hot day, this becomes a precious aid to reduce the risk of muscle cramps.
BRIX has innovated in the maple industry with its energy gel. It opened the market and gave the idea to many sports enthusiasts to fuel up naturally. BRIX is a leader in the industry.
Products
Everything is done at our sugar bush, from the tapping of the trees to the packaging. This allows us to ensure quality control at all stages of the manufacturing process for our products.
Only three all-natural ingredients are used. The first is our maple syrup. The second ingredient, Himalayan salt, provides 160 mg of sodium, the minimum required during an activity. This addition makes it one of the most complete gels on the market.
The three other flavours, blueberry, raspberry and ginger, contain no artificial flavours or preservatives, making them a genuine treat. Their nutritional composition facilitates digestion just as well as our Maple and Sweet and Salty flavours. Everything is in place to preserve the legendary taste, texture and effectiveness of BRIX products.
Innovation for the environment
We’re conscientious producers who advocate good practices to protect our environment, so it’s only natural for us to innovate when it comes to BRIX gel refills. As a result, we designed a lightweight, washable and reusable 80 g silicone flask for our customers who are concerned about their environmental footprint. With the refill bottles, you can tap into endless reserves of energy
Take advantage of this beautiful gift from nature and taste the power of maple to elevate you to the highest peaks!
