Mrs Bs Bees

[Arfermo]

Most of my honey gets sold to a shop and I get more than £5/lb for it.

Due to recommendations here I changed by jar size and don't regret it for a second (well apart from now being stuck with a box of 1lb jars doing nothing in my store!).

Shops round here don't give £5 so you are plain lucky for whatever reason.

 

[Swn58]

No. Just some of the farmers markets are.

You never said that.....and you originally replied to my post saying £7 was cheap. As you were replying to my post, I obviously take it rather personally!

 

[Apple]

Stuck in 1965
Only sell in 1lb jars
Most we can get is £5.00 for 1 lb
Local Association is a not for profit organisation.
We have proper Labels
We have all the relative health certificates


SO all of the above???

£14.00 per pound is achievable..... but possibly not in 1lb jars........ even for some of the honey I have seen lately.... one lady asked me " is this Lemon Curd" as I was looking at another beekeepers badly presented and incorrectly labeled produce a couple of weeks ago... all properly covid distanced of course!

not for profit

 

[Curly green finger's]

I sell my raw local honey in accordance to the prices that the market says it should sell at. One has to protect these prices, so they are not devalued and lead to the product being put into the class of all the inferior imports.
There has been a lot of debate on this site about honey prices in the past. I suggest you read them? Generally, local honey sells for around £9 per pound. Many think that it should actually be over £10.
The retail price at the shop that sells some of my honey is £8.75 per pound and £4.95 for an eight ounce jar. I offer discounts to regular customers and gave away dozens of jars of honey this year to friends and allotment holders, where one of my apiaries is.
I don't 'rip people off.'
You would be wise to understand the true value of the unique resource that you sell. I am sure that there are some people on here who would gladly buy all the honey you have at £5 a pound, so they could re-sell it!

Blimy!! But I agree £5 a pound is to cheap.
Even on ebay its not that cheap.
Alot of beeks are selling there honey in 340g jars now.
I can't understand selling 1lb jars your doing yourself out of jars of the golden delish!!

 

[ericbeaumont]

Just some of the farmers markets are.

Incorrect.

Farmers' markets customers are willing to pay a proper 21st century price because knowledge of source and producer gives them assurance in a world of fakery and scams, and because local flavour is a bonus they hadn't considered.

Those who undervalue honey work only to erode the USP that many of the rest of us are keen to promote. Do you think these cheapskates would have the nerve to do the same if they were producing and selling Champagne? Their fellow producers would have a fit.

PS: Markets aren't free: I pay 12.5% on sales and a 3m Gala Pro40 gazebo (the best) is £300.

 

[Swn58]

Blimy!! But I agree £5 a pound is to cheap.
Even on ebay its not that cheap.
Alot of beeks are selling there honey in 340g jars now.
I can't understand selling 1lb jars your doing yourself out of jars of the golden delish!!

Yes.....12oz jars could be the way forward for me. I sell quite a lot 1 lb jars though.

 

[Niv]

Shops round here don't give £5 so you are plain lucky for whatever reason.

Maybe, I honestly have no idea. They asked for a price, I gave a price, they agreed. The location of the shop (i.e. local to the honey) may be a big factor.

Sells well mind, I sold all my honey by December - not that I am a big producer so its probably a small throughput of sales through the shop for some of the guys on here.

 

[ericbeaumont]

I sell quite a lot 1 lb jars though

Sell them, but sell them empty.

As Apple said (and many others before him): a 1lb jar is the easiest way to limit your price.

At £10/lb a 340 would cost £7.50 but a tenner for a full 1lb seems so much more to a customer. People generally want a large jar and a 340 looks very similar to a 454. I recall that Swarm sells by the bucket, but if mine want larger they buy 1kg of Bakers' at £18.

 

[Apple]

Sell in 8 oz (227g) jars.. the hex ones look just as big as the round 340s

£5.50 an 8 0z or two for £10.00 all day at "local" events... a lot more at the big County shows... but then a 3 day pitch will cost you £1000 if located in the right place to sell... and you will need the correct insurances etc*** (BBKA one for the over the gate sales will not cut it!)
***
Product Liability, Public Liability, Employers Liability, Food Hygiene Certification ( also needed for selling Wax Wraps) and product certification for selling soaps and cosmetics.........
And membership of EQUITY... if you are going to give the performance I do to sell honey!

Ans sadly some have no idea about the Honey Regs! or even correct labeling!!!

Chons da

 

[Swn58]

No. Just some of the farmers markets are.

So you go from accusing people who sell honey for more money than you do of 'ripping off' customers.......then deflect (without an apology) to attack ALL the farmers markets......and are now saying just some of them.
Is this driving a 'tactical retreat,' or just ignorance on your part?

 

[frankenstine]

No price is a rip off. You put your good to market at whatever price you like and you will ether sell them or not. The people who chirp rip off do so regardless of price anyway. If they actually buy it your really screwed tho as no one else will

 

[ericbeaumont]

I sell my raw local honey in accordance to the prices that the market says it should sell at.
It’s all anybody is willing to pay here.
Shops round here don't give £5
market at whatever price you like and you will ether sell them or not.

Low market prices for local honey is a result of many years of amateur beekeeper inertia, but that doesn't mean that you and I should play the same old game. The market alone doesn't determine what price honey should sell and we're not servile suppliers tied by imaginary rules.

Does petrol stay the same price, or shoes, or cat food? Are other retailers afraid to raise prices in line with costs and inflation? We too have the freedom to increase prices by adopting a slow strategy.

If a 1lb jar was a paltry £5 retail in 2020 and went to £5.10 this year, and in two years went to £5.20, do you reckon customers would walk away? They won't, and after ten years of trickling increase you'd reach £6/lb.

The tail has been allowed to wag the beekeeper dog for too long; no need to let it continue.

 

[Pembroke]

It’s all anybody is willing to pay here. Our local association sells their honey for this as “we are a non profit organisation” and everybody follows suit.
At the last event they had I tackled the apiary manager about it and said what a disservice he was doing to the rest of us producing a quality product. He wasn’t interested. Even their labels are rubbish! No effort put into it at all. I despair.

My local association sells it's honey for £7 a pound at this online market: https://carmarthenfood.com/shop/

There's one in your area too: https://cardiganfood.com/market/

They do take a commission. All it requires from you is to take the order and get paid for it then either bring the sold merchandise to a central location once per week or provide them with stock to deliver. You're free to set your own price.

 

[enrico]

Get them used to paying £5 for a 12oz jar rather than a pound. No one will ever notice, then raise the price modestly if you need to.

 

[Erichalfbee]

My local association sells it's honey for £7 a pound at this online market: Market - Carmarthen Food

There's one in your area too: Products – Bwyd Ceredigion Food

They do take a commission. All it requires from you is to take the order and get paid for it then either bring the sold merchandise to a central location once per week or provide them with stock to deliver. You're free to set your own price.

Thanks. I’ll have a look.

 

[gmonag]

The real problem with honey prices is cheap, fake, sweet spread, marketed as honey for stupid cheap prices.

 

[ericbeaumont]

True, because it makes the real thing look expensive, when in fact it's a realistic value.

There's a news report in the BBKA mag today of the problem of adulteration in India. German NMR tests showed that only 3 of 13 honeys were pure, while the Indian tests were unable to detect syrup in nearly all of the 13.

 

[Swn58]

Just to point out that this series of 'life observations' are at the bottom of Arfermo's page:


There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary,and those who don't. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

Loophole - A word used to entice people to read clearly written Terms and Conditions.
Rip Off - Clearly written Terms and Conditions.
Terms and Conditions - Otherwise known as a loophole or a rip off.

In the Beginning God made heaven and earth... the rest was made in China.

Hmmm...............

 

[pargyle]

I sell my raw local honey in accordance to the prices that the market says it should sell at.
It’s all anybody is willing to pay here.
Shops round here don't give £5
market at whatever price you like and you will ether sell them or not.

Low market prices for local honey is a result of many years of amateur beekeeper inertia, but that doesn't mean that you and I should play the same old game. The market alone doesn't determine what price honey should sell and we're not servile suppliers tied by imaginary rules.

Does petrol stay the same price, or shoes, or cat food? Are other retailers afraid to raise prices in line with costs and inflation? We too have the freedom to increase prices by adopting a slow strategy.

If a 1lb jar was a paltry £5 retail in 2020 and went to £5.10 this year, and in two years went to £5.20, do you reckon customers would walk away? They won't, and after ten years of trickling increase you'd reach £6/lb.

The tail has been allowed to wag the beekeeper dog for too long; no need to let it continue.

I'm at £4.50 for 12 oz Hex jars ... No resistance at all ... New customers will be £5.00 this coming year and I'll do £4.75 as a discounted price for my regulars for the time being and see how it goes. I don't think it will be a problem. Unfortunately, the 'going rate' set by some of the bigger producers in our association is £5.50 and they mostly sell in One pound jars ....

We had a talk from someone a few years ago (Can't remember who it was) about how to make more out of honey sales and get a better price ... all the usual tricks - 12oz Hex jars, nice labels, tamper proof stickers, sell the sizzle not the sausage, benefits of local honey compared to supermarket blended stuff - loads of good solid marketing ideas etc. All I heard afterwards from some of the die hards ... 'my customers won't pay more and I sell all the honey my bees make - why change'.

You can take a horse to water .... it really is a problem in beekeeping - a reluctance to change seems endemic in some quarters.

 

[Apple]

We were selling at one of our "local" festivals a few years ago.... Green men and Fairy day..... possibly.
Unusually we had a competitor also selling honey in, then, 12 oz jars.... I seem to recall that were were selling at £4.80, he was at £3.50.
Our honey was selling well at £4.80.... he did not seem to be selling too well at all, eventually he wandered over and spoke to Dad in law ( Who can sell fridges to Eskimos),
Dad in law said to him ... if you sell at supermarket prices, folk will think it is supermarket honey.... put your price up to £4.80!

When packing away for the day I asked him how he had done... he said we put our price up and sold out.... odd thing is we have never seen him at any of the other shows.

We now package in 8 oz hex jars, because it outsells any other size by a country mile all day long!

Chons da