Honey price this year

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Griffo

House Bee
Joined
Jun 15, 2013
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Location
Mold
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I didn’t have to consider this issue last year because the dreadful spring in these parts left me with a grand total of 5 jars of heather honey in the Autumn which I gave away to friends
However, this year is going to be different. I will have enough honey to supply all existing local customers and friends with quite a good surplus to take to the local country show, where I will set up a little stall
So here is the question, what price a pound jar of honey this year?
 
It depends what part of the country and I know ericbeaumont gets about £14/lb in his neck of the woods but I'm looking for £6 for 12oz = £8 in Sussex.
 
It depends what part of the country

My wife ended up selling a lot of mine by post and got very good prices. So its not all about location.

£10 per 400g
£15 per 400g chunk,
£40 per frame of cut.

I never seemed to struggle to sell my honey. I used the cheapest jars and cra**y labels I printed in black and white, then stuck on wonky with tape. People instantly knew it was "home made honey".

Year-one spring, I was a noob selling £5 per jar, Autumn was £6. Then £10 on year 2. Because my wife could get higher prices by post it gave me the confidence to put the price up at the door too.

What I always found strange was when I put my prices up all the old door customers would disappear, but new ones willing to pay more would always come along. Its almost as if the people who buy expensive honey are afraid to buy honey if its too cheap. I think if someone is accustom to paying outrageous prices for Manuka, they are suspicious of a £5 jar of honey claiming to be super yummy. But when they see a £10 jar, they think it must be yummy, its expensive like my Manuka. So you may be suppressed how much more honey can sell for, even in the same location.

So dont get stuck in the mind set of thinking "my customers would not pay more", well put your price up and find new customers.

Obviously friends and family always got special rates, but dont be afraid to charge Joe P whats its worth.

The problem with honey shows is there will probably always be other honey sellers to compete with. And depending on the particular show, will dictate the prices depending on the people that show attracts. Put another way, you may get a good price depending on the show, but could probably sell elsewhere for more.

I know many of you are underselling your honey and it makes me sad. Not anyone can make keeping bees work, its a lot of time and hard work. I think every keeper deserves a good price for their honey.
 
True - but some people I know are literally counting pennies to get through the month at the moment.
Some through no fault of their own.
A squeezy bottle of nasty supermarket honey is a rare luxury

£5 is more than double the price.
But if they taste some real stuff -wow!
I adjust the private sales to who's buying and some get little jars as freebies.
We are all three payslips from homeless as they say.
 
I put my prices up this year, but it definitely seems I should have gone further!

£5 -> £5.50 for 227g/8oz
£9 -> £10 for 454g/1lb
£25 -> £30 for 1.5kg mini bucket

Did my first extraction of the year yesterday, ~17.5kg from 2 supers.
Jarred 10x 227g, 10x 454g (labels are in sheets of 10!) and left the rest in the settling tank.

Listed on Facebook this morning and the bulk of it has sold (assuming people turn up when they've said they will).
I was quite surprised that nobody has wanted any 227g jars, just 2x 454g have sold (to a regular) and the rest has gone in buckets.
I've had a lot more interest than when I started listing on FB marketplace in late July last year.

Lesson learned - people seem to prefer larger quantities and they're willing to pay!

I made a point in the listing that's it's "new season 2023 spring honey" so perhaps it's the hayfever sufferers looking for the most up to date pollen? :ROFLMAO:
Perhaps I'm ahead of the game and other local beeks haven't extracted/listed theirs yet so I've monopolized pent-up demand?
 
We only have the 227g and we still it at £6, seemed to be popular last year!!! Think we may leave the bulk in a storage bucket as we had hundreds of jars hanging around, just tap off when we need it. However, best laid plans!!!
 
Think we may leave the bulk in a storage bucket as we had hundreds of jars hanging around, just tap off when we need it. However, best laid plans!!!
Yes, definitely better to store in buckets and jar up batches as needed.
If 30lb is too much to jar at a time for your market, you can always store in 15lb buckets.
 
We only have the 227g and we still it at £6, seemed to be popular last year!!! Think we may leave the bulk in a storage bucket as we had hundreds of jars hanging around, just tap off when we need it. However, best laid plans!!!
Perhaps it's worth offering other sizes - I thought 227g would be the most popular as it's the cheapest (though most expensive per gram/oz) but I've been blown away by the demand for the 1.5kg buckets.

Yes, definitely better to store in buckets and jar up batches as needed.
If 30lb is too much to jar at a time for your market, you can always store in 15lb buckets.
This is why I only jarred 10 each of 227/454g and left the rest in the settling tank initially. Based on my experience last year it seemed the best thing to do, but to begin with I only offered 227g jars.
 
surprised that nobody has wanted any 227g jars, just 2x 454g have sold (to a regular) and the rest has gone in buckets.
Sales and jar sizes depend on your market. For example, at a farmers' market or a deli, a smaller jar may have more appeal as part of a spread of purchases, whereas a one-off journey to your doorstep will justify a bigger spend on a single product.

Two tips about jars and weights:
1 If you fill a 227 jar with 227 of honey it looks underfilled as the level doesn't enter the neck. Fill and label to 235 and the jar looks full.
2 A 454 supresses the price and value of honey and retailers no longer use it. Try a 340 at the same price as your 454 and notice that no-one notices.
 
not tried selling in mini buckets
Yes, jars drag the margin. I sell Bakers' at market from a large bucket and customers bring their jars, or I start them off with buckets from TDOnline: the JetB 365ml holds 400g and the 850ml a kilo. The JetB 1000ml is likely to hold 1.5 kg. Clear buckets have greater appeal.
 
Yes, jars drag the margin. I sell Bakers' at market from a large bucket and customers bring their jars, or I start them off with buckets from TDOnline
Thanks Eric. How much do your 400g/1kg buckets sell at?

Bakers honey on tap is an interesting option. But obviously your customers know you're going to be there so come prepared with jars. 🙂
 
I've been blown away by the current price of F&H jars! £9.35 for a tray of 33 hex 2 years ago via our local BKA now £17.75 for same. 🙁
Have you asked them to apply the 10% BBKA discount to your account (assuming you're a BBKA member)?

I've not tried selling in mini buckets. Where do you get yours?
I got them from Freeman & Harding but I'll be ordering from TDOnline soon as they're cheaper, look to be the same, and I'm running low. I've put some feelers out with local beeks regarding a group purchase as the price breaks make quite a difference!

The JetB 1000ml is likely to hold 1.5 kg. Clear buckets have greater appeal.
It may do, but it'll be cutting it awfully close, I'll stick with the 1.2L for 1.5kg. The picture below makes the gap look bigger than it really is!

IMG_20230522_114627.jpg
 
Have you asked them to apply the 10% BBKA discount to your account (assuming you're a BBKA member)?


I got them from Freeman & Harding but I'll be ordering from TDOnline soon as they're cheaper, look to be the same, and I'm running low. I've put some feelers out with local beeks regarding a group purchase as the price breaks make quite a difference!


It may do, but it'll be cutting it awfully close, I'll stick with the 1.2L for 1.5kg. The picture below makes the gap look bigger than it really is!

View attachment 36296
That looks amazing
 
How much do your 400g/1kg buckets sell at?
Bakers' is £21/kg., so £8.40; they bring the container and I don't label. If they don't have a container then I give them one (should really charge for it) and suggest they bring it back for a refill.
 

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