Buoyant roadside honey sales since lockdown

[Camey]

Interesting post around the price of honey and the little increase seen over the years. I wonder if it is down to something as basic as our own culture and the reluctance to come across as pushy or " up ones self"!
I'm still new to the bee keeping life experiences ( second year) but selling my honey in Scotland at £6 a pound and realising sales have come really easy. The product seems to sell its self! Looking at other areas around the world and the obvious Manuka success, is this really because this honey is such a super food and tastes great or is it more likely that the marketing and product placement has been successfully pushed across the globe? We have our own new ground-breaking research conducted by Dr Adrian Charlton of FERA. Via the Scottish Bee Company that has shown that honey produced here is comparable to Manuka for Claimed health benefits, Manganese etc. Surely if we made some collective effort we could help promote UK honey to the lofty heights and Monetary values it really deserves?

 

[Bear]

I guess the reason is that it's difficult to justify the significant extra cost compared to "honey" that's sold in supermarkets at sod all per pound.

I read somewhere recently that the number of kept colonies in China has remained the same but the amount of stuff they sell as honey has increased 3 fold over this time. Some is then sent through places like India to disguise the origin. And then it's difficult to identify the sugars in the honey as genuinely fake so it slops through the net.

At least we KNOW we've got the real thing! A premium product indeed!

I read in Beecraft magazine the top 3 faked foods in the world
1 Milk
2 Olive oil
3 HONEY
Quite easy to fake if you know how !!!

 

[Amari]

Depends where you live Eric
My neighbour has a sign up for passing trade. Her honey is £5 a lb. She hasn’t shifted much.
I sell mine at Conwy honey fair for £6.00 for 340g
The rest of the time it goes all over the country in plastic 3lb tubs for £15

One of my outlets is a food shop in a medium-sized village. I was asked to take over as supplier of honey this year after another beek retired from beekeeping. I'm fairly sure this is the only outlet in the village.
I sell at £4/lb and the shop retails at £4.99/lb.
Sales are quite slow. I took 12 more jars last week and most of the previous (three weeks) dozen were still on the sales shelf.

 

[Erichalfbee]

One of my outlets is a food shop
Sales are quite slow. I took 12 more jars last week and most of the previous (three weeks) dozen were still on the sales shelf.

And there you have it
The jars sit in the shelves, start crystallising and look horrid.
I see that in the couple of shops in Lampeter stocking local.... ish honey

 

[Swarm]

With all this lock down and pubs not open, one local has branched out into selling fruit and veg and a few other edibles (gorgeous cod and chips)
My wife asked if they were interested in honey and nearly had here arm bitten off. We supplied six jars at £5 per 12 oz and advised that our local shop was selling for £6.99. That was on a Saturday and we had a message by Tuesday asking for more. We found that six at a time doesn't have jars sitting around and better still, people start asking for it. I seem to be doing a lot of jarring up lately and that reminds me, I need to order more jars.

 

[Amari]

And there you have it
The jars sit in the shelves, start crystallising and look horrid.
I see that in the couple of shops in Lampeter stocking local.... ish honey

No need for that. My runny = just extracted then warmed at 60C for an hour. Or soft-set.

 

[ericbeaumont]

Depends where you live Eric
My neighbour has a sign up for passing trade. Her honey is £5 a lb. She hasn’t shifted much.
I sell mine at Conwy honey fair for £6.00 for 340g
The rest of the time it goes all over the country in plastic 3lb tubs for £15

I accept that prices are regional and variable, but when this topic came up over the winter I found (as one example) any number of small-scale beekeepers in Wales and the West Country selling 340s at prices similar to mine.

Do we forget about trying to increase local honey sales and the perception of value? If we do, honey will still be £5 in a 1lb jar in 2040, by which time it'll be worthless. To shift a product you need a story, good packaging, the right markets and an approach opposite to the one described by Camey: the reluctance to come across as pushy or "up oneself"!

When will the message get through to beekeepers that no other food producer in this country retails in 1lb jars? Why do beekeepers plod on selling as if it was 1954? Easiest way to increase your price is to bottle in 340g, but too many of us won't hear of it or haven't heard about it; some, it's whispered, don't care.

If the perception of value is to be improved then at least one input has to change or the same outcome will arise. Alter one of these elements - the price, the jar, the packaging, or the sales route - and improvement may be gained; the single factor which must stay constant is the product: local honey.

 

[Swarm]

The pound jar tripe is perpetuated by honey shows.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The pound jar tripe is perpetuated by honey shows.

Not really - the people who frequent and exhibit at honey shows almost all sell their honey in 12oz hex jars now. It's just a particular type of beekeeper which insists on still using the 1lb 'ministry' jar and probably also tuck matchsticks under the crownboard and insist on feeding cane sugar to the bees.

 

[ericbeaumont]

It's just a particular type of beekeeper which insists on still using the 1lb 'ministry' jar and probably also tuck matchsticks under the crownboard and insist on feeding cane sugar to the bees.

 

[Swarm]

Not really - the people who frequent and exhibit at honey shows almost all sell their honey in 12oz hex jars now. It's just a particular type of beekeeper which insists on still using the 1lb 'ministry' jar and probably also tuck matchsticks under the crownboard and insist on feeding cane sugar to the bees.

I disagree, show judges could just as easily judge honey from any jar size available. The pound jar is demanded, we even have this stupid, antiquated clause in our association honey shows. As if it matters!!
Maybe relaxing this Dickensian attitude would go some way towards beekeepers realising there are other alternatives.

 

[Murox]

I disagree, show judges could just as easily judge honey from any jar size available. The pound jar is demanded, we even have this stupid, antiquated clause in our association honey shows. As if it matters!!
Maybe relaxing this Dickensian attitude would go some way towards beekeepers realising there are other alternatives.

Well who sets the rules for honey shows ?

 

[Curly green finger's]

I accept that prices are regional and variable, but when this topic came up over the winter I found (as one example) any number of small-scale beekeepers in Wales and the West Country selling 340s at prices similar to mine.

Do we forget about trying to increase local honey sales and the perception of value? If we do, honey will still be £5 in a 1lb jar in 2040, by which time it'll be worthless. To shift a product you need a story, good packaging, the right markets and an approach opposite to the one described by Camey: the reluctance to come across as pushy or "up oneself"!

When will the message get through to beekeepers that no other food producer in this country retails in 1lb jars? Why do beekeepers plod on selling as if it was 1954? Easiest way to increase your price is to bottle in 340g, but too many of us won't hear of it or haven't heard about it; some, it's whispered, don't care.

If the perception of value is to be improved then at least one input has to change or the same outcome will arise. Alter one of these elements - the price, the jar, the packaging, or the sales route - and improvement may be gained; the single factor which must stay constant is the product: local honey.

Well said Eric..
Locals don't always want to pay £6 for 12oz. I've found that because they think they know you?? Not? That the price should be cheaper.
I happened to go and buy some sandwiches yesterday from one of my outlets and they are selling my 12 oz hex jars for £7.50. They had an order of 50 jars for £ 6 ..
I asked how it was going and the manger said slow. Maybe your Trying to make to much on each jar.. There's some gready buggers out there!
A different out let down the road has been selling them for 6.50 and hes sold out.. It goes to show that some times you can ask to much, even for a lovely golden product.

 

[ericbeaumont]

one of my outlets ... are selling my 12 oz hex jars for £7.50. They had an order of 50 jars for £ 6 ..
I asked how it was going and the manger said slow. Maybe your Trying to make to much on each jar.. There's some gready buggers out there!
A different out let down the road has been selling them for 6.50 and hes sold out.. It goes to show that some times you can ask to much, even for a lovely golden product.

Slow is better.

Resist the temptation to aim get shot of your stock quickly at a lower price; suggest the same to your shopkeeper. The £6.50 supplier has created a demand which cannot be met and between now and the next harvest you are the main source of local loveliness.

There will be variables other than the £1 price difference that may determine why one shop sells quicker than another: easy parking, footfall, display location...

It is far more useful to a shopkeeper, to the consumer and to your reputation to have honey in stock all year than to sell out in a month. When these factors are understood the price is less relevant.

 

[pargyle]

There is an issue with price ...you cannot expect a retailer to work on a margin of 10% .. on what is a relatively niche product. If you sell to a retailer at what you consider to be a retail price and the retailer is looking for a 30% margin you cannot be surprised if he prices the product too high.

The key to sales through retail outlets is to establish what they expect as a profit margin - and if they are talking perecentages be clear about whether it is a profit on cost (mark up) or a profit on return. You then need to look at what products you may be competing with and the price levels (In some gift shops and specialist outlets you may be competing with preserves, jams and chutneys - not other honey products) and decide what price the market will bear in comparison.

From there you can work back via the retailers desired margin to what you need to sell it to him for ... and the decision about whether the convenience of not having to sell your product yourself is worth the reduction in your profit margin.,

The major supermarkets are specialists in squeezing supplier's margins in return for volume product sales and shelf space. Independent outlets may not be as sophisticated but they know that if a product does not move off their shelves then it is undesirable for one reason or another (Price, Product Perception or Packaging) and they won't tolerate giving your honey shelf space for very long.

Local factors and the type of outlet will also affect your ability to price your product correctly .. it's never going to be a one size fits all situation.

 

[Niv]

Price is such a difficult subject for some I think. I know a number of the members here are running a business but for some it is a small scale hobby or a sideline at best and as such maybe business acumen and profit are not the most important / thought about factors and so are maybe led by others (others that have maybe been selling honey for decades and haven't moved the price on?).

When I had honey to sell I did a little research of price in the local area & how much it would be if I wanted to buy it online etc and listened to the association members and then set a price - of which they thought it was a bit high - I sold out in three weeks without really trying, so now I am looking to increase that price a little without scaring people off!

Ultimately I am a hobbyist not a business but I don't want to undersell as that can damage local businesses and maybe one day I will need the income so should look at it in a more business like manner.

 

[Repwoc]

Ultimately I am a hobbyist not a business but I don't want to undersell

Exactly. I bet all hobbyists are very keen to ensure they don't pay over the odds for items they purchase - I wonder why some are so blasé about what they charge their customers?

 

[ericbeaumont]

The key to sales through retail outlets is to establish what they expect as a profit margin - and if they are talking perecentages be clear about whether it is a profit on cost (mark up) or a profit on return. From there you can work back via the retailers desired margin to what you need to sell it to him for.

Thanks for that good info, Philip.

I had a chat with my new neighbour who runs an upmarket local deli and he agreed that his 40% margin was high but also pretty routine. I told him I couldn't supply him at that discount, but he suggested that I should choose my price to sell (suppose I decided to give him 20%) and he would price it to get his 40%.

Of course, it may not sell or sell slowly but that doesn't bother me much because in the end I'll get my money one way and place or another.

PS: what is a profit on return?

 

[ericbeaumont]

business acumen and profit are not the most important.. factors and so are maybe led by others (others that have maybe been selling honey for decades and haven't moved the price on?). Ultimately I am a hobbyist not a business but I don't want to undersell as that can damage local businesses...so should look at it in a more business like manner.

Good points, Niv.

You're right about decades of set prices: at a farm shop inside the M25 the local old boy was selling to them in 1lb jars at about £2.80 or so (four years ago!)and the shop was retailing at £3.50ish. When he retired two fellow beekeepers supplied them (still do) and in conversation the manager acknowledged that the old days were over and that the price would go up. I believe the beekeepers sell to the shop at £5/227 and it retails at £6.95. Sales gone down? No, quite the opposite.

Whether hobbyists like it or not the name of the game is retail and food production which are businesses no matter the scale. The hobbyist may not be aware (or maybe care) that by underselling in volume jars with poor packaging they're damaging the beefarmer's business and the perception of honey for all.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Whether hobbyists like it or not the name of the game is retail and food production which are businesses no matter the scale. The hobbyist may not be aware (or maybe care) that by underselling in volume jars with poor packaging they're damaging the beefarmer's business and the perception of honey for all.