Our History
(picture of David Voisin)
A Canadian Family Tradition
Gerard Voisin was a dairy farmer in Formosa, Ontario. Each spring he tapped the sugar maple trees behind his farm starting in the 1950’s. He had 12 kids with his wife Dorthy Voisin which was a great help to get everything done on the farm!
In the 1950’s Gerard started collecting sap with 500 buckets, all gathered by horse and sleigh (The same trees are still tapped to this day!). By the 1960’s Gerard started using a tractor and sleigh.
David Voisin (Gerard and Dorthy’s 8th child) was born in 1965 and quickly grew a passion for farming while working alongside his father and siblings. At this time maple syrup was more of a hobby that also provided some additional farm income for the Voisin family, they had no goals of turning their hobby into a company. They just simply enjoyed the taste of it!
As the 1970’s passed, sap collection became more sophisticated. Tubing was connected between tree taps to replace the need for buckets. By the late 1970’s Gerard had over 1,000 taps collecting sap.
In 1983, David purchased the farm directly next to his father. He was still helping on his dad’s dairy farm but was also farming his own cattle, pigs, corn, beans, wheat, cucumbers and of course maple syrup!
(picture of David and LeaAnne Voisin)
Building Something Together
David and LeaAnne got married in 1986. At the time LeaAnne wasn’t working on the farm but she had a strong interest in developing the Voisin family hobby into a business that they could build together.
In 1989, David had fully taken over maple syrup production, continuing the Voisin’s favourite spring activity. At this time the tubing was upgraded to include a vacuum for efficient sap collection. Spanning 2,500 tree taps it was time to build a sugar shack, which became the start of Voisin's Maple Products! LeaAnne started expanding beyond maple syrup into maple candy, butter, and sugar, as well as gourmet maple products including the same maple mustard that we still sell today.
They built the business from the ground up by attending local craft shows and earning their first wholesale account with Mildmay Cheese Haus who has been selling the Voisin’s Brand since 1989.
In early 1990’s maple syrup was typically sold in large sized containers (commonly 1 litre or 4 litres), however, David and LeaAnne saw an untapped market for smaller containers. Their mini maple containers (as small as 50 millilitre) quickly became popular, and to this day are still the most common size being bottled in the Voisin’s facility.
(picture of Voisin’s Maple syrup in the 1990’s)
Crafted with Care
In the early days, everything was done by David and LeaAnne themselves. Syrup was bottled, capped and labelled by hand in glass containers, jugs and tins.
David and LeaAnne managed every step, from boiling and bottling, to wholesale and deliveries, as well as connecting directly with customers at local events.
By the mid 1990’s David and LeaAnne needed some help to keep up with the growing number of orders, so they hired family and friends. Their work helped to collaboratively increase the scale and efficiency of production of the high-quality maple products that were previously made by David and LeaAnne.
(picture of David & a worker bottling maple syrup)
A Family Business Expands
By the year 2000, the company had reached a major milestone, moving into their newly built 5,500 square foot facility that included its own commercial kitchen to keep up with demand for the artisan maple items that they had been producing. A separate space was constructed for bottling maple syrup and an upgraded wood-fired evaporator was installed to keep up with over 6,000 tree taps. These investments allowed Voisin’s to produce traditional maple products at scale.
Ten years later, in 2010, there were 3 new full-time staff members and Voisin’s Maple Products was steadily gaining traction by wholesaling their products to farm stores, bakeries, small grocery stores and some tourist shops. The sugarbush now had over 9,000 tree taps and a reverse osmosis system was installed to greatly reduce the number of hours spent boiling sap. Despite this growth, the company remained deeply rooted in family values and hands-on craftsmanship.
(picture of Tyson Voisin)
Continuing the Legacy
Tyson Voisin (David and LeaAnne’s son) was born in 1994 and grew up working with his parents in the maple industry. He shared the same passion producing maple syrup and selling both retail and wholesale products. Tyson began selling Voisin’s maple syrup at local farmers markets when he was 16 years old. He also continued selling the gourmet maple products at craft shows that his parents had previously been attending.
By 2015 Tyson was working full-time with his parents David and LeaAnne. Years later Tyson stepped into a leadership role, becoming Owner and President. With hands-on production experience and formal business education, Tyson brought a new perspective while honoring the traditions that the company was built on. The next generation was ready to carry the story forward.
In 2024 Tyson and his wife Larissa bought the farm directly behind his parents which added 4,000 maple tree taps that are now collected each year.
(picture of Voisin's additional brands)
Investing in the Future
By 2016 Voisin’s Maple Products introduced co-packing and private label services to reach organizations that are interested in having their food production outsourced or want to expand their product lines. They offered production and packaging of maple syrup as well as any products made in their commercial kitchen.
In 2019 there was an expansion onto their facility allowing Voisin’s Maple Products to now work out of over 14,000 square feet. This provided a much-needed warehouse and new production space. A fully automated maple syrup bottling line was installed into the new facility helping to keep up with new volumes of production. Voisin’s also added a dedicated office space for accounting, compliance, and purchasing.
In 2020 Voisin’s expanded its product reach by acquiring Wicked Gourmet, followed by The Garlic Box in 2022. These brands complemented and strengthened their growing portfolio, and operate fully within the same facility.
(picture of Voisin’s automated bottling line)
Supporting Local Amid Rapid Growth
Voisin’s Maple Products supports their local economy by partnering with hundreds of local maple syrup producers each year and buying their high-quality maple syrup. This supports the demand for Voisin’s products and other well-known companies that Voisin’s package or private label for. Going beyond the local level, Voisin’s products are sold in over 200 locations. With online stores recently launched for all three brands, Voisin's products are broadly available.
With maple syrup demand on the rise, the Voisin’s family have also expanded their tree tap count to over 22,000 taps, making Voisin’s the only high-volume maple syrup bottling company that also produces maple syrup on a large scale in Ontario.
Voisin’s is now a team of 20 employees (and growing), that share Voisin’s vision for growth and quality maple products. The facility and products are notably certified by CFIA (Canadian Food inspection Agency) and GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative), with selected products being Kosher and Organic certified.
(picture of Gerard Voisin, Dorthy Voisin and Tyson Voisin)
The Future of Voisin’s Maple Products
With another facility expansion on the horizon, the company is preparing to add new automated bottling lines with dedicated production spaces, and expanded warehousing.
Voisin’s Maple Products continues to build trusted partnerships across every part of the business, with a clear goal: to develop as a recognized and respected food producer while staying true to its roots.