Price of honey

[Erichalfbee]

I despair sometimes

 

[B+.]

I despair sometimes
View attachment 26797

I was selling it at that wholesale 15 years ago!

 

[Boston Bees]

Never mind the price (which is ridiculous), I love the "direct from bees" tagline.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Never mind the price (which is ridiculous), I love the "direct from bees" tagline.

maybe he milks them directly into the jar?

 

[WoodenBeam]

Tis what it tis & I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it - probably a new beekeeper who doesnt have the confidence to charge ‘the going rate’. He’ll sell out pretty quickly, realise that jarring up and processing honey in any quantity isn’t too much fun and then adjust price accordingly or give up (This is assuming it’s not some dell boy who’s bought a barrel on the cheap & flogging off as the real deal).
On the flip side, I despair when I see old crystallising runny honey sitting on a shelf priced at a premium which nobody buys………..At least with the cheapo guy he’s promoted the stuff and getting people to eat it, the manky premium stuff does nothing for nobody other than the initial one off sale.

 

[Anduril]

Tis what it tis & I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it - probably a new beekeeper who doesnt have the confidence to charge ‘the going rate’. He’ll sell out pretty quickly, realise that jarring up and processing honey in any quantity isn’t too much fun and then adjust price accordingly or give up (This is assuming it’s not some dell boy who’s bought a barrel on the cheap & flogging off as the real deal).
On the flip side, I despair when I see old crystallising runny honey sitting on a shelf priced at a premium which nobody buys………..At least with the cheapo guy he’s promoted the stuff and getting people to eat it, the manky premium stuff does nothing for nobody other than the initial one off sale.

I have similar in my area, a beekeeper of 50 years experience, selling 1 lb jars at £3.60

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I have similar in my area, a beekeeper of 50 years experience, selling 1 lb jars at £3.60

Unless it's shitely presented, buy it off him, relabel and sell it on at a realistic price!

 

[pargyle]

We have one or two beekeepers down here who are still selling at £4.50/lb jar ... they are reasonable sized producers and it influences the price that Association members are prepared to charge for their honey. It's a difficult problem to overcome in an area where there are lots of people selling honey and the fact remains that discerning honey customers are not always easy to find and you are usually prising a customer off another beekeeper when you do find them ....trading someone up from £1.50 a jar Own Label honey is a big ask. Trading them away from 'real' honey at £3.50 a pound - a very big ask.

My view ? My price is above the average artisan honey sold in the area - lower than the retail price in the farm shops etc. but it is well presented, quality honey and it will always sell - often by word of mouth spread - I don't need to advertise in order to sell my crop.

Worry about the quality of your own honey and market it on the premises of quality, price it at what you think is fair and see how it sells - price is not the only thing that affects sales.

If people tell me, as they sometimes do, that they can buy real honey cheaper than I sell then that's not really a customer I want long term if price is their primary influence. I have 1oz 'Taster' jars these days that I sell for 50p a jar (it's a loss leader but it's a useful tool in my sales armoury) and if I get a possible new customer who appears resistant to the price I offer them a 50p taster jar and tell them to see if the taste is worth what I sell it for ....most of the time they come back for more.

 

[Pembroke]

The original image comes from a Facebook site that has this as their 'pitch'.

"All the UK major bee shops have a sale from time to time, but it's easy to miss out on a bargain. I'll be adding as many offers and price reductions as I see, but feel free to add the ones you spot!"

it's a closed group though so you'd have to join to see the rest of the advert (and others) but as it says caveat emptor. It could be as JBM says a buy and sell on opportunity or it could be sugar water and food colouring.

 

[CaptainCymru]

My mate picked up a jar of Duchy honey in waitrose the other day for daddy warbucks dollar.......produce of Romania

 

[B+.]

The original image comes from a Facebook site that has this as their 'pitch'.

"All the UK major bee shops have a sale from time to time, but it's easy to miss out on a bargain. I'll be adding as many offers and price reductions as I see, but feel free to add the ones you spot!"

it's a closed group though so you'd have to join to see the rest of the advert (and others) but as it says caveat emptor. It could be as JBM says a buy and sell on opportunity or it could be sugar water and food colouring.

If you buy someone else's "honey" to rebrand it, you're accepting it as your own. Is it worth the risk?

 

[holmbee]

I have steadity increased the price, year by year. Small increases always accepted and rarely questioned. I think the error is leaving the price te same for a few years and then going for a large increase. Moving from a 1lb jar to a 12oz is also a good opportunity to move up the relative price of the underlying honey.

 

[Pembroke]

If you buy someone else's "honey" to rebrand it, you're accepting it as your own. Is it worth the risk?

Well lots of honey sellers around the country that buy honey in 30 pound buckets from their local bee farmers and then bottle it up seem to be okay with doing so.

Wholesale Honey | British & International | Local Honey Man

So long as you have PL insurance in place, and I'm sure you do what can possibly be the problem?

 

[B+.]

Well lots of honey sellers around the country that buy honey in 30 pound buckets from their local bee farmers and then bottle it up seem to be okay with doing so.

Wholesale Honey | British & International | Local Honey Man

So long as you have PL insurance in place, and I'm sure you do what can possibly be the problem?

I don't think public liability insurance would negate any damage to your reputation if the product turned out not to be what you thought it was. It seems to me that this is a risk.

 

[user 20297]

I don't think public liability insurance would negate any damage to your reputation if the product turned out not to be what you thought it was. It seems to me that this is a risk.

I'm with you on this, but more than that, it just seems wrong in principle to be reselling honey from other producers on the kudos you have from being known as a beekeeper.

 

[Martimart]

As a complete beekeeping newbie and only wanting to stay at 2 to 3 hives I have from a business point of view been looking at companies house information on honey producers / beekeepers that have quite a few hives. From a lets sell the honey and make some profit at the end of the year I wonder how you do start to get to a price per jar. Obvious starting position is as a very minimum the price per jar has to cover all costs, so labour, hive parts purchased over the year, time putting them together, jars, equipment and servicing etc, like everything its a numbers game and if you’ve got 30k jars then selling low might work, but in a bad year what then? Do you increase prices and risk some stock not selling? I have sleepless nights over pricing in my industry but I think you commercial beekeepers have it hard, especially with the public happily paying bugger all for what is honey fragranced syrup sold in most supermarkets.

 

[Boston Bees]

I'm with you on this, but more than that, it just seems wrong in principle to be reselling honey from other producers on the kudos you have from being known as a beekeeper.

Honestly, I wouldn't touch the honey made by most beekeepers.

Most of the time it's some crusty guy in his kitchen, with equipment still a bit manky from last year's extraction, no hair/hand/face covering, and a liberal dose of syrup, fondant and Apivar residue to spice up the actual honey.

But enough about me.

 

[Swn58]

My real production time will come a month after these start to flower It's looking like a good year for lime trees again!
Not sure about 'crusty,' but certainly old here. My kitchen, equipment and me for that matter, are always cleaned to within an inch of it's life!
I have a brand new 12 frame extractor, raring to go. I bought hundreds of 12 oz jars, months ago, to prevent experiencing a shortage like I did last year. Labels are about to be ordered.
12oz is my new standard size for this season, following comments from people far more knowledgeable than me, last season. I will do orders for 8oz and 1lb only if required. Most will sell through the farm shop at £6.70 per unit, that I will make £5.10 on.

 

[pargyle]

As a complete beekeeping newbie and only wanting to stay at 2 to 3 hives I have from a business point of view been looking at companies house information on honey producers / beekeepers that have quite a few hives. From a lets sell the honey and make some profit at the end of the year I wonder how you do start to get to a price per jar. Obvious starting position is as a very minimum the price per jar has to cover all costs, so labour, hive parts purchased over the year, time putting them together, jars, equipment and servicing etc, like everything its a numbers game and if you’ve got 30k jars then selling low might work, but in a bad year what then? Do you increase prices and risk some stock not selling? I have sleepless nights over pricing in my industry but I think you commercial beekeepers have it hard, especially with the public happily paying bugger all for what is honey fragranced syrup sold in most supermarkets.

It rather depends on how you view your time ... is it a hobby with a little extra income or is it your prime income.

The simple rules of business apply to beekeeping as they do any other industry .. you start with your cost of goods, add in labour and variable overheads, decide what you need to cover your fixed costs and statutories and add in your profit margin and out drops your selling price. If you are in it for an income that's the only rational way.

Unfortunately, beekeeping in the UK is largely dominated by hobbyists and the vast majority look at the local retail price and set their price up accordingly ... they will make a gross profit per jar - it's difficult not to when the bees do all the work ... but, if they costed in all the things they actually spend money on and related to their beekeeping and costed in their own time .... I rather think most would need to double their selling price. But ... most of us hobbyists do it for the pleasure ? of keeping bees and on a good year will make enough to cover our beekeeping costs and perhaps invest in a bit more kit ... for the 2/3 hive owner - you may cover the cost of your hobby in a good year - once you have all the kit you need (and when does that ever happen ?) you may make a bit of profit to spend on - well what would you spend it on ? More kit of course and more bees !!

 

[Curly green finger's]

My real production time will come a month after these start to flower It's looking like a good year for lime trees again!
Not sure about 'crusty,' but certainly old here. My kitchen, equipment and me for that matter, are always cleaned to within an inch of it's life!
I have a brand new 12 frame extractor, raring to go. I bought hundreds of 12 oz jars, months ago, to prevent experiencing a shortage like I did last year. Labels are about to be ordered.
12oz is my new standard size for this season, following comments from people far more knowledgeable than me, last season. I will do orders for 8oz and 1lb only if required. Most will sell through the farm shop at £6.70 per unit, that I will make £5.10 on.

Go M!!