How Much is Your Honey?

[Stiffy]

We charge £6.95lb and although we do actively market our honey we have a job to keep up with demand.
I do get annoyed when fellow beekeepers moan about the cost of keeping bees and then sell the only means of recouping something back (honey) at a ridiculous price.
Also going back to previous thread, with just under 30 hives, we are also registered as a small business and can recover money from the tax man for outgoings, which also helps.
Cheers
S

 

[victor meldrew]

We charge £6.95lb and although we do actively market our honey we have a job to keep up with demand.
I do get annoyed when fellow beekeepers moan about the cost of keeping bees and then sell the only means of recouping something back (honey) at a ridiculous price.
Also going back to previous thread, with just under 30 hives, we are also registered as a small business and can recover money from the tax man for outgoings, which also helps.
Cheers
S

Makes one wonder where in the UK your honey sells ? Around here it sells for much less
The laws of supply and demand apply even to honey sales .
I am trying to market pure comb honey (227g) and am pondering a price per container . 60 containers = 10 frames thin wireless foundation !
One or two peeps have expressed a desire for some ,prompting me to have a go. Arriving at + 227g involves a little fiddling with runny honey pouring to meet the required weight !.
VM

 

[Repwoc]

I understand that the price of sugar is likely to go up a lot - it's already increased by over 20% in our local Lidl, Aldi and Morrisons in recent weeks.

More cost to be recovered and lower yield this year than last. I think the price will be adjusted accordingly - probably £5.50 vs £5.00 / lb last year.

 

[topbar]

Shame you all cant get together and sell it for a set amount to rise the price for all the work and investment spent. But on the other hand if someone has planted wild flowers, taken time to have a huge variety of plants or is just in the right place and making really nice honey why should theres be the same price as someone who has dumped there bees next to a rape field. Maybe selling honey needs to be seen more as a business and less of a hobby then people can make a little living.
I'm happy to just have the stuff all for me. hehe

 

[m100]

I understand that the price of sugar is likely to go up a lot - it's already increased by over 20% in our local Lidl, Aldi and Morrisons in recent weeks.

The price charged in the supermarket often bears no relationship to the cost of bulk purchase on the open market. It's often a loss leader as evidenced by the prices charged at Bookers that are higher than Tesco / Asda etc (and in Bookers the bulk 20/25kg sacks are more expensive than 15 x 1kg bags)

Bulk prices "by the tonne" in the short term are rising, about two to three months ahead the price should be falling.

 

[Woeski]

6.95 per lb is not unreasonable. I have seen £5 per 8 oz. If you market your honey as the natural, minimal heat treated, super all round heath benefiting elixia that it is, it is still loads cheaper than the pills that some of these people take.
And much tastier.

 

[TOBY-3652]

Anyone want to buy all my honey at £4-50 a pound and sell it at £6-95 cos around here they would want 2 jars for £6-95

 

[Stiffy]

Anyone want to buy all my honey at £4-50 a pound and sell it at £6-95 cos around here they would want 2 jars for £6-95

If someone starts selling at a lower price then people will look and want at an even lower! Until beekeepers start to realise the value of their product they will never re-coup their expenses let alone make a small profit. By the way at £4.50 I would give back to bees, especially with recent price of sugar.
S

 

[Phil280]

Hi there.

Here Honey ranges from 6,50 € - 12,00€/kg for standard blossom honey depending on the area. The east is cheaper and the west dearer.

I sell mine for 7,50 €/kg - that would be 6,60 Pounds/kg and about 3,20/lb.

Supermarket honey can be as low as 3€/kg - and people buy it - even though it states "Honey from EU and Non-EU countries" on the label.

So that means - at least we know it's not from mars.

Greets
Phil

 

[BKF Admin]

I think the answer is to educate the public about what rubbish the heat treated non EU stuff in the supermarket really is.

Why buy a premium product when the only information you have is price..

The BBKA could spend out on a campaign to educate consumers but they are far to busy scratching around for extra income/grants.

 

[Tom Bick]

Good point that Mark.

I often mention to people that the honey has not been filtered and heat treated to within an inch of its life but don’t actually know what exactly the processes are.

 

[richardbees]

Tom

As I recall - 97% of honey is composed of various types of Sugar i.e. Sucrose, Fructose etc

The remaining 3% is Amino acids and various chemicals derived from the nectar sources.....which give honey it's character.

These are fragile and the first to evaporate on excessive heating.

richard

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Tom

As I recall - 97% of honey is composed of various types of Sugar i.e. Sucrose, Fructose etc

The remaining 3% is Amino acids and various chemicals derived from the nectar sources.....which give honey it's character.

These are fragile and the first to evaporate on excessive heating.

richard

Surely water comes into the equation somewhere?

 

[Hivemaker.]

By the way at £4.50 I would give back to bees, especially with recent price of sugar.
S

Is sugar now £4.50lb or £9 kg down your way?

 

[Stiffy]

Is sugar now £4.50lb or £9 kg down your way?

No but buggered if I am going to start giving it away !

 

[Tom Bick]

Tom

As I recall - 97% of honey is composed of various types of Sugar i.e. Sucrose, Fructose etc

The remaining 3% is Amino acids and various chemicals derived from the nectar sources.....which give honey it's character.

These are fragile and the first to evaporate on excessive heating.

richard

Yes thanks Richard but do we know how fine they filter and to what temperature they take the honey and for how long?

 

[Hivemaker.]

No but buggered if I am going to start giving it away !

Surely not giving it away is it,take 1lb of honey away from bees and sell it for £4.50,relace it with 1lb of sugar which costs 30p,got to be more profitable than feeding them back the honey.

 

[TOBY-3652]

Were all going 2 get our heads together around here next year and put prices up a bit ..i agree about too lower price but the older beeks have been too low in price for years

 

[Robbie & Jans Bees]

£2.50 per 1/4 jar? you can a product cheap but you cant get a good product cheaply

the old saying are best

 

[WaxManSmokerBoy]

Gas going up 18%, electricity going up 11%, sugar up 18%(?), fuel up ?% and generally food up ?%

A fair return on the effort involved. It may be a hobby, supplementing a pension, or a main source of living income. Unless you are actually a charity then it beholds you to at least begin to cover your costs or you will be seen as a mug and your honey will sell like hotcakes, naturally.

It's difficult to compete on price with Chinese imports, whether dealing in honey or engineering products. You can rarely have Western quality at Chinese prices, but there are a lot that will decide that price is everything. Just make sure that they aren't part of your customer base.