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Selling Local Honey

Earlier in 2023, David Primrose sent out a survey to members asking about their experiences of selling their honey. David then studied the responses from members and followed it up with a Bee Chat with members. Below are his findings.

We have considered how the Association can help members to sell their honey, we wondered whether members would like to have their details available to customers seeking local honey. Please help us understand whether members would be interested in this, please take your time to complete the survey below:

Selling Honey Website Survey

Selling Local Honey

I had been keeping bees for seven years before I encountered the inevitable problem – too much honey to give away to friends and family. This coincided with an improvement in my general practice, adherence to food hygiene principles and compliance with the relevant legislation. So, I had honey to sell.

With minimal retail experience, how was I going to find outlets? Asking around, I found several others who had surplus stock, but even more who had established a network of customers. Not surprisingly, for some it was easy to sell from the door and at work. For me, living at the end of a farm track is great for having our bees in our garden, but there is zero passing trade. So I decided to survey other association members, assuming that we could all learn together through sharing our experiences.

Our Association committee responded positively, giving helpful links to the ongoing work undertaken by other associations and at a national level. We produced an online survey, which took place during March 2023. The initial results were shared at one of our association’s weekly BeeChats at the end of the following month. That session was online, and allowed for participants to add their comments in response to the provisional results that were being shared.

We had 35 responses to the survey, several representing beekeeping couples. With five respondents having no (surplus) honey to sell, the comparative data focused on a cohort of thirty, whilst advice collected comes from everyone. South Staffordshire and District BKA draws its membership from across the county and surrounding urban areas; those replying reflected that geographical spread.

My basic question was whether members had found it easy, difficult or very difficult to sell their 2022 harvest. Of the cohort of thirty, 19 (65%) found it easy, 10 (32%) found it difficult, and 1 (3%) very difficult. My subsequent analysis compared and contrasted the “easy” 19 with the “difficult” 11, considering several different variables which I had thought might be significant. The first variable was the length of time as a beekeeper – all the other variables focused on the sale of the honey. The small sample size limits the reliability of any generalizations.

Experience

There were 9 members who had been keeping bees for less than five years, 9 who had kept bees for between five and ten years, and 12 who have been keeping bees for more than ten years. For those with five or more years’ experience, one-third found it difficult to sell honey. For those with less than five years’ experience, it was almost half.

Quantity

Of the 30 with honey to sell, 10 had 100 lbs or less, 9 up to 200 lbs, 6 up to 500 lbs, and 5 more than 500 lbs. Whilst the person with the largest amount to sell found it easy, most others with large quantities found it difficult.

Runny only or Runny and Softset

Of the cohort of 30, 18 sold soft set (and runny), whilst 12 sold only runny honey. A third of those whose sales included soft-set honey found it difficult, with just over a third of those only selling runny honey finding it difficult.

Labels

There was 1 person who needed no labels as they only sold bulk. 7 respondents produced their labels in-house, and 22 had them commercially printed. Over half of the former found it easy to sell, whilst almost two-thirds of the latter found it easy.

Hexagonal Jars

Of the 29 selling in jars, 13 used only round, 6 used only hexagonal, and 10 used both round and hexagonal. Almost half of those only using round jars found it difficult to sell, whilst this reduced to a third for those using hexagonal and to less than a third of those using both.

Size of Jar

Of the 5 who sold bulk, 2 found it difficult to sell. Of the 12 who used a variety of sizes of jars, a sixth found it difficult to sell. Of the 17 who only used one size of jar, over half found it difficult to sell. Of the 11 selling only in 1 lb jars, over half found it difficult to sell, whilst of the 18 offering smaller jars less than a third found it difficult to sell.

Number of Outlets

When asked about the number of outlets, it seems as if some people included from their own home, whilst others only counted external outlets. 18 counted no more than one outlet, 13 between 2 and 10 or more. Whilst just over half of those with 1 outlet found it easy to sell, over threequarters of those with multiple outlets found it easy to sell.

Wholesale or Retail

There were 20 respondents who only sold retail, directly to their customers. 10 made some wholesale (or bulk) transactions, selling indirectly through other outlets. In both situations, over a third found it difficult to sell.

Of the 10 making some wholesale (or bulk) transactions, 6 had over 300 lb to sell, 2 had between 100 and 300 lb, and 2 less than 100 lb.

Type of Outlet

Respondents were asked whether they

Almost everyone sold direct to friends and acquaintances (28), with over half (16) selling to the general public (16) from their home. Over a third sold direct to colleagues at work (13) and at stalls, venues and events (11), with almost all of the latter finding it easy to sell. For those with retail sales, shops (9) were more popular, with smaller numbers at markets (3) and in bulk (5).

Pricing

During the survey, it was recognised that there is a wide regional variation in the price of local honey, with prices being quoted twice that common in the Midlands.

For the 5 selling bulk, their price was less than £4 per lb, including 2 for whom sales were difficult. The person who found it very difficult to sell was also averaging less than £4 per lb for both wholesale and retail.

6 people put their average wholesale price in the range £4.00-£4.99, as did 2 for their retail, with a third of the former finding difficulty in selling.

12 sold retail in the range £5.00-£5.99, with a third finding difficulty in selling.

14 sold retail charging £6.00 or over, with more than a third finding difficulty in selling.

Of the 10 with up to 100 lb to sell, most prices were at the upper end. Of the 10 with between 100 and 300 lb to sell, prices were spread across the range. Of the 10 with 300 lb or more to sell, there were fewer asking the higher price for their retail sales, as well as more wholesale which was at the lower price range.

Advice

Respondents were asked what advice they would give to a beekeeper selling honey of the first time. This produced a wealth of wisdom, with labels, hygiene and pricing being dominant themes. The edited compilation does include some conflicting advice, consistent with beekeepers feeling free to express diverse opinions.

Advice – labels

  1. Buy labels. 12oz Jars. Facebook site local to you, your village / area.
  2. Only put labels on in small batches
  3. Design your own label with your own name/ brand rather than a generic label
  4. Labels must meet the legal requirements
  5. Take advice on regs, preparing honey, labelling etc
  6. Comply with all labelling
  7. Ensure your honey labels are fully compliant with legal requirements
  8. Ensure your labels are legally applicable and the honey is clean 

Advice – hygiene

  1. Excellent book. Food Hygiene for Beekeepers. Andy Pedley Northern Bee Books
  2. Make sure your place of extraction equipment is to the required standards as set out by the BBKA
  3. Inform the Trading Standards & Environmental Health dept. at your local authority
  4. Ensure that honey is properly processed, jars are sterile & ‘clean’ (not sticky!)
  5. Ensure honey is fit for sale – Read up or sit BBKA module 2 – honey bee products and forage + hygiene certificate
  6. Follow the rules

Advice – pricing

  1. Price properly, do not undercut others with cheap honey as it lowers customers’ price expectations
  2. Don’t undersell yourself. We have a wonderful product, but people have forgotten how good it tastes. A sample taste really works.
  3. Research the market and don’t sell it cheap
  4. Keep prices at minimum, you are probably not in it for the money. Presentation sells! I would never use plastic lids for a start
  5. Don’t believe the people that say they will have some … very little came of that. Price realistically. I see some areas sell at £10 – £12 a pound, I have struggled at £7 but feel that any less undervalues the product. Then you have to reduce the price just to clear stock.
  6. Don’t oversell
  7. Ensure you charge a fair price, to help cover the cost of your bees and equipment. Our honey should really cost about £80.00 per jar!!

Advice – sundry

  1. Think again (about selling honey).
  2. Learn how to produce soft set
  3. Start small
  4. Sell to friends; word of mouth is strong advertising
  5. Only take on outlets that you can supply throughout the year if you wish to keep them
  6. Regular supplies in small quantities
  7. Have tasters available 
  8. Use peelable labels, ask for the jars back. New lids

Association

Respondents also suggested ways in which the Association might be able to help its members. (Those suggested included several activities which the Association already organises.)

  1. Develop a Cooperative
  2. Share advice
  3. Share samples with prices
  4. General pricing guide
  5. Demonstrate extraction
  6. Update on labelling
  7. Training on selling and regulations

The majority (29/33) would wish to participate in an online resource directing visitors to Association members with honey to sell. Almost everyone (31/32) was supportive of a local campaign to promoting the sale of local honey.

Conclusion

Several factors were identified which may be linked to easier sales, including soft-set as well as runny, hexagonal as well as round jars, a variety of jar sizes including 12 oz. and using commercially printed labels. Having multiple outlets was linked with ease of sale, as was having between 100 lb and 200 lb to sell, and selling at stalls, events and venues. Retail price in the Midlands averaged around £5 per pound.

Friends, acquaintances, and colleagues represent important customer base, as well as people coming to the house. Those with more than 300 lb to sell, are more likely to sell wholesale or bulk. Those with less than 100 lb to sell tend to ask higher prices. Those with more than 300 lb to sell tend to ask lower prices. For some difficulties in selling honey persist, but may be less common after five years.

Alongside the survey, I have established two outlets and now need to manage supply and demand. I’ve registered with the local authority and have my 5-star Food Hygiene rating from Environmental Health. I look forward to comments which endorse, correct or enhance the contents of this report.

Thank you to all who took part, David Primrose

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