Mad Pricing

[Repwoc]

Yep - fair enough - I was considering the immediate direct costs only.

 

[oliver90owner]

You don't think they, the processors, are paying 20p for a jar, do you?

Near halve the cost by missing out the middleman, near halve the cost by the lorry load, not just by the pallet, reduce the cost by direct delivery from manufacturer to the plant...........one set-up cost for 100,000 labels. These ethings all make a difference.

On top of that it could still be a % of inferior honey blended to just comfortably pass the local contents regs. regarding pesticides and antibiotics, etc.

As ingredient/content lists have to give the main ingredient at the top of the list, would this mean that more than 50% were EU sourced for ' contains EU and honey from other countries' - or does it mean simply that the EU compnent is bigger than any of the others?

Very subtle difference, but could be a lot less than 50% EU sourced honey. On top of that, what does 'EU sourced' really mean? Bought from someone selling honey in the EU or actually produced in the EU?

Almost certainly contains AFB spores.

Regards, RAB

 

[taff..]

Even so, having attempted to look for jars to purchase, I was taken aback at how much they cost. Sorry it's a bit off-topic, but Pete, where do you get jars from?

http://www.bottlecompanysouth.co.uk/


2x boxes containing 84 12oz hex jars each, plus lids came to £48 this week.

I think the normal 1Lb jars are a little cheaper

 

[margob99]

Confession: the cheapest jars available at the moment appear to be either Tesco or Sainsburys' lemon curd at 23p a jar. Nice jars... perfect for jam or (with new lids) honey. So I bought ten, and used some of the lemon curd to make ice cream, and ditched the rest. (It's just about edible, but basically cornflour, sugar and some citric acid). Felt bad about throwing food out, but I'm out of used jamjars and they're getting pricey to buy new. Even a large batch of honey jars doesn't get you four jars & lids for a quid.

I just couldn't do that with honey, though. I too noticed the cheap honey and it made me shiver; I'd be very interested to know exactly where it's from and what it (and the bees, and their keepers) have been through to get it there.

Don't worry, I've done exactly the same, and worse, than you!

Had a last-minute opportunity for a cheap stall at a farmers' market, but no jars, so I went out and bought 40 x 8oz jars of mustard at 45p per jar, decanted all the mustard and (naturally after sufficient cleaning and sterilising etc) plopped in all the honey.

And I sold all my stock at £4 per 8oz, and had only one complaint about price.

I'm aware that I'm a newbie and possibly making some classic mistakes, but I have 10 years of marketing under my belt, and as a beekeeper my perception is that we all sell ourselves short, considering how much hard work it is to make honey. Charge what the market will accept; no more, no less.

Edited to add: I'm aware that we're up against the vice-like grip of supermarket groups like Tesco's, who squeeze the suppliers to death, and who use loss-leader strategies to suck people in, but we should recognise that alternative supply chains, like farmers' markets and country shows, are unearthing a massive interest in local foods; and a willingness to pay a premium for them.

 

[Gardenbees]

Glad it's not just me who was tempted... in my case, I reckoned that several pounds of nice strawberries needed the jars more than the (completely fruitless) lemon-coloured curd.
Ta for the jar supply suggestions, folks. I'll check these out for honey next year.

Having this kind of choice certainly raises ethical issues. I note that Sainsburys have all sorts of awards & green-ness statements on their website, including this:
Our position on honey

Sainsbury's honey is only produced by suppliers that operate a six-mile radius exclusion zone between bee hives and GM trial sites. These suppliers are members of the Honey Association which carries out regular testing to ensure that there is no contamination of honey with pollen derived from GM plants.

This means that Honey Association members (by which they presumably are referring to BHIPA members) are responsible for the budget honey. However, these members range from actual UK producers through to importers of honey from pretty much anywhere. I doubt they can all keep tabs on where the GM is, let alone other factors. iagree:RAB's comment above re. AFB ought to be printed on every jar).

 

[MuswellMetro]

Is the honey any good. How do I tell my customers that mine is worth £4lb?
How and who works the bee's for 68p?

Pete

Morrisons have under cut the price, 298 grams 67p

 

[Chris Luck]

Almost certainly contains AFB spores.

and

RAB's comment above re. AFB ought to be printed on every jar).

Is there any actual evidence in this case, (or in general), to back this up or is it speculation?

Chris

 

[MuswellMetro]

so I went out and bought 40 x 8oz jars of mustard at 45p per jar,

And I sold all my stock at £4 per 8oz, and had only one complaint about price.

.

1) next year ask me, i had a gross of jars that i have just sold on, still have a few if you need more

2) yes £4 per half pound is about right for a London farmers market,

i sell mine at £3.00 or 3.50 per half and £5.50 to 6.50 per 1lb at school fetes but find 1lb jar not easy to sell as buyers relate the price to the smaller supermarket jars ( are they 300g or something)

3) north london BKA sold honey at highgate fair at £5.00 half and £9.50 1lb and ran out it was so popular , that less than Harrods though


4) farm shops in outer London are selling it a £2.75 to £3.50 per half and £5 to 6.5 per 1lb

 

[MuswellMetro]

and



Is there any actual evidence in this case, (or in general), to back this up or is it speculation?

Chris

the recent outbreak of AFB in Oxfordshire is within a few miles of a Big Honey bottling factory

 

[Gardenbees]

Some AFB research here: http://www.culturaapicola.com.ar/apuntes/revistaselectronicas/Apiservis/36_ritter_1.pdf
from a few years back (translated from German, I think). Spores were almost universally found in imported honey from outside the EU; the discussion (e.g. about the role of antibiotics) is quite interesting.

Last year's AFB crisis in South Africa was thought to have been caused by imported honey: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=117&art_id=nw20090504152454678C933981, although I haven't seen any direct proof of this.

So until we know the actual provenance of the unrealistically cheap honey, I'd hate to have it lying around where any of our bees could find it, e.g. unwashed empty jars in recycling crates. Mind you, that goes for any honey jars....

 

[margob99]

1) next year ask me, i had a gross of jars that

4) farm shops in outer London are selling it a £2.75 to £3.50 per half and £5 to 6.5 per 1lb

I have seen £4.99 per half at a farm shop on the outer edge of London.

 

[FROGDOGDIVER]

I'm sure your tongue is in your cheek and you really know this is NOT a good idea?
Cazza

As Cazza has said this is NOT a good idea as you dont know where the honey came from and could contain nasties to infect your own bees.