How Much is Your Honey?

[drstitson]

presumably 1/2 kilo.

last one i went to all jars were same price (even acacia) but had the usual market scam of no £/€ on the price cards - we're talking >3 years ago here when the pound was worth €1.50 so our french friends received a near 50% markup just by crossing the channel.

you'd need to shift a lot of honey to cover the diesel from italy!!!!

 

[Chris Luck]

Errr, why would there be a £/€ on the price card?

Do you price your honey in Euros in the UK or only US$?

The point is that for some reason honey is two or three times the price in the UK....

....ahhh, but then again your hives, frames and timber are as well..

Chris

 

[Hivemaker.]

The point is that for some reason honey is two or three times the price in the UK....
....ahhh, but then again your, frames and timber are as well..
Chris

Not everywhere though.

 

[Chris Luck]

Cheeky, you missed out "hives" from your quote.....your not a journalist are you?

....and I missed out mentioning "bees" and "nucs" that are also cheaper here in France.

Now, where did I put that Cheddar cheese?

Chris

 

[drstitson]

most UK markets still have the currency symbols (ie £ pound sterling) indicated on price labels even if they are forced to bow to the kilo in preference to the pound.

 

[Chris Luck]

Ahhh, they were in the UK, yes?

and only made a 50% mark up, yes?

they will know better next time.

Chris

 

[drstitson]

chris - as i said i haven't been to one since the exchange rate crashed so presume they now have UK specific price tags!!!!!

 

[davidesv]

There's "honey" in some stores here that sell £1 a 1lb and some alot more!
You may want to contact importer the link in my earlier post 124 and check with them direct.

Russ

Ok, my production is worth more than £1 per 1lb...not chinese honey:Chevy_anim:

Since it is not my intention to export a large amount of honey , I would prefer to avoid importer but I was thinkig rather to contact some shops directly.

 

[davidesv]

I only sell in the UK via someone that collects from me in France and they are happy to pay my retail price, no surprises there.
Chris

I guess that you're dealing with a importer , so what's the price you are paid from him for selling your honey ?

 

[Russel]

Ok, my production is worth more than £1 per 1lb...not chinese honey:Chevy_anim:

Since it is not my intention to export a large amount of honey , I would prefer to avoid importer but I was thinkig rather to contact some shops directly.

Wasn't suggesting you sell to them just find out what they may be prepared to pay. We all know that a premium product can and should command a premium price.

Russ

 

[MandF]

Of course, British honey sold in Britain is more premium than imported honey, be that French or Italian.

Just like Italian local honey should be the premium product/price in Italy.

In my experience a lot of people want and buy local honey these days for health reasons (still has good stuff in it) but also for 'green' reasons - supporting local producers, food miles etc. I personally think it would be a shame for our shelves to be taken over by imported honey, and for our prices to be driven down by those imports.

 

[Chris Luck]

Can you explain why local honey should be any more healthy than honey that is not local?

Hard evidence only please, not what you heard in the pub.

or why a honey in it's own Country is "premium" and not when it crosses a border?

I guess that you're dealing with a importer , so what's the price you are paid from them for selling your honey ?

Same as my retail price.

€6 a kilo (£5.20 2.2lbs)
€3.50 500gms (£3.02 1.1lbs)
€2.00 250gms (£1.73 0.55lbs)

Chris

 

[MandF]

Can you explain why local honey should be any more healthy than honey that is not local?

Hard evidence only please, not what you heard in the pub.

or why a honey in it's own Country is "premium" and not when it crosses a border?

I didnt say or mean foreign "local" honey is any less healthy, and for that reason it is probably equally attractive to semi-ignorant buyers here in the UK.

In terms of hayfever benefits, then it probably *is* less "healthy", as theres no point eating honey with pollen from plants that the buyer isnt allergic to.. but it would take a more educated buyer to realise that.

"Green" buyers would go for the more local honey, or UK honey at the very least, so that doesn't bother me at all.

My concern is our small shops stocking foreign local honey because it is cheaper for them, more margin for them, or even the rrp will be lower. At the expense of not having proper local honey on their shelves.

I'm not being jingoistic, I just think French "local honey" in small shops here is wrong, just as UK "local honey" being sold in French shops would be wrong.

 

[drstitson]

Honey must be one of the few foodstuffs that can truly be locally produced (almost) everywhere in the UK in significant quantities, whether in town or country.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

I'm not being jingoistic, I just think French "local honey" in small shops here is wrong, just as UK "local honey" being sold in French shops would be wrong.

That sounds fairly jingoistic to me.

 

[MandF]

That sounds fairly jingoistic to me.

I think you need to check your definition of jingoism then.

This isnt in any way an "aggressive" point of view, I just think importing local honey just goes against the ethics of local honey production.

In my opinion, and in my experience when dealing with customers buying my honey.

It is a premium product for a reason - it is not just the taste/health benefits, there is an ecological and environmental aspect too.

If our small shops start stocking French and Italian honey (not to mention Chinese honey) then that sends the wrong message, turns local honey into a commodity, loses the "green" message, and makes it more difficult for us hobby beekeepers to get a return on our investment.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

I think you need to check your definition of jingoism then.

This isnt in any way an "aggressive" point of view, I just think importing local honey just goes against the ethics of local honey production.

In my opinion, and in my experience when dealing with customers buying my honey.

It is a premium product for a reason - it is not just the taste/health benefits, there is an ecological and environmental aspect too.

If our small shops start stocking French and Italian honey (not to mention Chinese honey) then that sends the wrong message, turns local honey into a commodity, loses the "green" message, and makes it more difficult for us hobby beekeepers to get a return on our investment.

Semantics. If not advocating jingoism then advocating protectionism. Both wrong imo.

Wouldnt get too worried about all local shops stocking just non UK honey, if they do then the local honey is over priced or their market doesn't demand it. There is always a choice and if the local consumer doesnt like what's on offer at one place they can go to the next.

You may like to charge a premium price for your product, and good luck to you, but as with all commodities there are many who are not interested in paying a premium price for something they don't care that much about.

 

[Chris Luck]

In terms of hayfever benefits, then it probably *is* less "healthy", as theres no point eating honey with pollen from plants that the buyer isnt allergic to.. but it would take a more educated buyer to realise that.

This was why I asked for hard evidence and in this instance there is none AND when I am asked by a potential customer about this subject I tell them there is no evidence to support that claim, in fact in can be quite the opposite. Perhaps I should also add that in France to make such a health claim would be illegal and subject to prosecution.

I'm with Mr B, sounds like protectionism at best and if it's only a hobby what's all this stuff about "returns on investments"?

Chris

 

[MandF]

I dont understand why a hobby cannot also have a ROI?! You invest, and you get a return.
And I find it quite amusing that we have 2 French beekeepers screaming "protectionism", hopefully irony isnt absorbed by the English Channel.

So, for the benefit of doubt - Im not being jingoistic, I am not advocating protectionism, I am simply stating that I think having foreign local honey competing for shelf space in our small farm shops etc gives the wrong message to customers. We are a forum of beekeepers here, not politicians, we should be able to state opinions on what we think is good for beekeeping in our own countries.

I dont think we want or need foreign "local honey". Even if we didnt have enough of our own to sell, and there was demand, that just reinforces the value of our honey.

 

[MandF]

This was why I asked for hard evidence and in this instance there is none AND when I am asked by a potential customer about this subject I tell them there is no evidence to support that claim

I can speak for myself here - I have suffered with hayfever since I was a small lad. I always had a period of hayfever during which I would have a nightmare 2 week period where taking piriton daily for 2 weeks was necessary and often only took the edge off my symptoms.

I started eating local honey regularly last summer.

This year I only needed to take a hayfever tablet for 3 days, and in past years I wouldnt have even bothered doing that with similar symptoms as I would have considered those a "mild" day, and just inconvenient.

Anecdotal I know - but there it is, and I am not alone.

There isnt any hard evidence either way, but it seems fairly logical to me that de-sensitisation to pollens one is allergic to is possible.

And in the UK, noone will say "it cures hayfever" because, for a start, it depends on what pollen you are allergic to, and when the honey was harvested (and whether that particular pollen is in that batch of honey). What we can say is that it *could* cure hayfever, that many people swear by it, and whether it worked for us.

I suspect its the same in France?

http://www.twickenham-bees.org.uk/honey and hay-fever.html