Josh Parker (businessman)

Last updated
Josh Parker
Born (1998-01-08) January 8, 1998 (age 23)
Ogdensburg, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
OccupationEntrepreneur, businessman
Relatives Arlie Parker (grandfather)

Josh Parker is an American entrepreneur best known for his innovative development of maple products, and is the founder of Parker's Real Maple, which has been sold at over 500 retail locations. He has been featured on Shark Tank, the Glenn Beck Program, and Fox News, among others. At the age of thirteen, Parker was the youngest maple syrup developer in New York state. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Parker went on a school field trip to a maple farm in 2009 at 11 years old and was intrigued by the fact that one could tap a tree in their own front yard and produce maple syrup. He boiled maple syrup on his mother's stove but was limited to only producing a couple of gallons a year. His grandparents bought him a small boiler where he was able to produce 15 gallons a year. At fifteen years old, his father co-signed a business loan which allowed Parker to convert a large barn on the family's farm into a sugar shack. His stainless-steel industrial size evaporator was the first to be powered by wood pellets in New York. [3]

"With the 15 buckets, I then went to 30 buckets and then, from the 30 buckets to 60 buckets. Then, finally, I did 100 buckets for a couple of seasons... Now I finally went to about 3,500 taps this season" said Parker, in an interview with Fox News. [4]

In June 2015, Parker appeared on the Glenn Beck Program as Beck was interested in his entrepreneurial efforts. The interview had a positive impact on Parker's Maple and by the end of 2015, Parker’s Maple was available in many retail locations. [5] Beck invited Parker back for an interview on his radio show on October 6, 2016, and six months later Parker’s Maple products could be found in over 500 stores in 50 states and four countries. [6]

In 2016, Parker pitched his products to a panel of potential investors on Shark Tank. Within the following week, Parker said that he had reached over a quarter-of-a-million dollars in sales. [7] [8] [9] [10] Parker's products have been sold at Costco [11] and Walmart, [12] among others.

In 2020, Parker sold Parker's Real Maple to The Forest Farmers for an undisclosed amount where production still continues. [13] In 2021, Parker's Real Maple products was still being sold in retail locations and was reviewed by Delish Food News and voted one of their favorite maple syrups. [14]

Early life

Josh Parker was born (January 8, 1998) to parents Christian and Jennifer Parker. His father is a contractor and musician and his mother is a public high school guidance counselor. [15] His grandfather, Arlie Parker, is a Canadian retired ice hockey defenseman.

Parker was interviewed by NCPR and when the segment aired, Erin Draper reached out to Parker, asking him if he would be interested in enrolling Clarkson's entrepreneurial program. Parker enrolled at Clarkson’s, completing his senior year in freshman-level college courses. Draper mentored Parker on shipments, hiring employees and remodeling his facility. [16]

Related Research Articles

Maple syrup Syrup made from the sap of maple trees

Maple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before winter; the starch is then converted to sugar that rises in the sap in late winter and early spring. Maple trees are tapped by drilling holes into their trunks and collecting the sap, which is processed by heating to evaporate much of the water, leaving the concentrated syrup. Most trees can produce 20 to 60 litres of sap per season.

Walmart American multinational retail chain

Walmart Inc. is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The company was founded by Sam Walton in nearby Rogers, Arkansas in 1962 and incorporated under Delaware General Corporation Law on October 31, 1969. It also owns and operates Sam's Club retail warehouses. As of October 31, 2021, Walmart has 10,566 stores and clubs in 24 countries, operating under 48 different names. The company operates under the name Walmart in the United States and Canada, as Walmart de México y Centroamérica in Mexico and Central America, and as Flipkart Wholesale in India. It has wholly owned operations in Chile, Canada, and South Africa. Since August 2018, Walmart holds only a minority stake in Walmart Brasil, which was renamed Grupo Big in August 2019, with 20 percent of the company's shares, and private equity firm Advent International holding 80 percent ownership of the company.

Maple sugar

Maple sugar is a traditional sweetener in Canada and the northeastern United States, prepared from the sap of the maple tree.

Costco American multinational chain of membership-only stores

Costco Wholesale Corporation is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only big-box retail stores. As of 2020, Costco was the fifth largest retailer in the world, and the world's largest retailer of choice and prime beef, organic foods, rotisserie chicken, and wine as of 2016. In 2021, Costco was ranked #10 on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.

Sam's West, Inc. is an American chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Walmart Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Walmart founder Sam Walton. As of January 31, 2019, Sam's Club ranks second in sales volume among warehouse clubs with $57.839 billion in sales behind rival Costco Wholesale.

Fruit Gushers Fruit snack with liquid filling

Fruit Gushers are a Betty Crocker-branded fruit snack introduced in 1991. They are soft and chewy with a fruity-juice center.

Walmart Canada is the Canadian subsidiary of Walmart which is headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario. It was founded on March 17, 1994, with the purchase of the Woolco Canada chain from the F. W. Woolworth Company.

Eggo Cereal Breakfast cereal made by Kelloggs

Eggo Cereal is a breakfast cereal manufactured by Kellogg's.

Janine Allis Australian businesswoman

Janine Allis is an Australian businesswoman who is the founder of Boost Juice and part-owner of Retail Zoo, which is the parent company of Boost Juice, Salsa's Fresh Mex Grill and Cibo Espresso.

Daymond John American businessman, investor, and television personality

Daymond Garfield John is an American businessman, investor, television personality, author, and motivational speaker. He is best known as the founder, president, and chief executive officer of FUBU, and appears as an investor on the ABC reality television series Shark Tank. Based in New York City, John is the founder of The Shark Group.

Robert Herjavec Canadian businessman

Robert Herjavec is a Canadian businessman, investor, and television personality.

<i>Shark Tank</i> American reality television series

Shark Tank is an American business reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on ABC. The show is the American franchise of the international format Dragons' Den, which originated in Japan as Money Tigers in 2001. It shows entrepreneurs making business presentations to a panel of five investors or "sharks," who decide whether to invest in their company.

Maple liqueur refers to various alcoholic products made from maple syrup, primarily in the Northeast United States and Canada. It is most commonly made by mixing Canadian rye whiskey and Canadian maple syrup. Maple liqueur is considered an important cultural beverage in certain Canadian festivals.

Lori Greiner American TV personality, inventor and entrepreneur

Lori Greiner is an American television personality, inventor, and entrepreneur. She is an investor on the reality TV show Shark Tank and its spin-off Beyond the Tank. She has been known as the "Queen of QVC" since 2000, with the premiere of her show Clever & Unique Creations. Greiner is the president and founder of For Your Ease Only, Inc.

Daniel Lubetzky

Daniel Lubetzky is a Mexican-American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, author, and founder and executive chairman of snack company Kind LLC.

Jeffrey Hart Brotman was an American attorney, entrepreneur, and executive. Brotman was the co-founder and chairman of Costco Wholesale Corporation.

Crown Maple Syrup

Crown Maple Syrup is a certified organic maple syrup company based in Dover Plains, NY. The company was established by Robb Turner in 2010. The sap used to produce maple syrup comes from tapped maple trees in areas ranging from the Hudson Valley to Western Vermont. The syrup is processed and bottled at Madava Farms on an 800-acre site. The farm is considered to be the largest maple syrup production facility in North America.

The second season of Shark Tank aired on Network Ten on 8 May 2016 and concluded 7 July 2016. The series was confirmed on 9 June 2015.

Sabin Lomac American businessperson

Sabin Zen Morley Lomac is an American businessman and co-founder of Cousins Maine Lobster.

References

  1. ↑ "Double or Nothing". Wild Center. October 6, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  2. ↑ "'Hypocrites don't win' (Joshua Parker joins Glenn) time 1:03:30". OMNY The Glen Beck Show. October 12, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Canton teen is young maple syrup entrepreneur by Todd Moe". NCPR. February 28, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  4. ↑ "NY Teen Entrepreneur Taps Maple Syrup Profits by Molly Lane". Fox News. April 26, 2014. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Shark Tank – Parker's Real Maple Owner Joshua Parker Feeds The Sharks by Bob Miller". Chew Boom. October 19, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Parker's Maple by Alex Halton". Millennial Entrepreneurs. October 6, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Parker's Real Maple Syrup Shark Tank Products Episodes New Season 8 by Angela Barbuti". Heavy. January 20, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Young Canton Entrepreneur Shows Off Maple Business on 'Shark Tank' by Alex Valverde". Spectrum Local News. October 23, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  9. ↑ "If you like cotton candy and maple syrup, you and your sweet tooth are in luck". Boston Globe by Karen Campbell. September 20, 2018. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Parkers Maple Syrup Pitch (Shark Tank Season 8 Episode 5)". YouTube - Every Shark Tank Product. Oct 21, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Parker's Real Maple Syrup". Costco. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Parker's Real Maple Syrup". Walmart. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  13. ↑ "SAVOR THE SEASON: Forest Farmers acquires Parker's Maple brand by Andy Flynn". Lake Placid News. June 26, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  14. ↑ "We Tested More Than A Dozen Maple Syrups—These Are Our 9 Favorites by Lena Abraham". Delish. May 17, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Young Entrepreneur Wow's Glenn". The Glenn Beck Program. June 15, 2015. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  16. ↑ "What's On Tap? Parker's Maple" by Kristen A. Schmitt". The Clarkson School. Retrieved November 15, 2021.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.