Price of UK Honey

[ENZO]

Hello all,
I'm in the UK for a few days and this afternoon I poped into the a Tesco (we don't have them in Jersey) for a quick shop, I looked at the price of honey and I was really shocked at how low the price was. Tesco brand honey was for sale at 68p for 340g and £1.41 for 454g soft set. are these Crazy prices or is it just me. In Jersey he cheapest honey I have seen is £2.88 for 340g.

How can beekeepers compete with these sort of prices? I know it's a different product and a different market, But still!! My jars and labels cost nearly this price!!

The Tesco honey did state "product of the EU and outside the EU". What does this mean? it basically means the source their honey from anywhere.

I can't help thinking that really cheap honey degrades the Honey we sell

All The Best, Enzo

 

[Hivemaker.]

I can't help thinking that really cheap honey degrades the Honey we sell


I don't think so,most people who already buy the local honey's know what they want and prefer,i would say the supermarkets are doing us all a favour,hope they put the price down a bit more,then i will put mine up more.

 

[VEG]

I sell mine at £4 per lb no problem.

 

[thurrock bees]

i sell honey in shops next door to large supermarkets and they cant get enough of my honey. they keep saying that its better than supermarket honey. i also tell the outlet that the hives are in say 1/4 mile of the shop. But i never tell them the location tho.

 

[Onge]

If you have ever tasted that crap you need not worry about your own honey.

Mine sells out at £5 a jar.

Yea it is a bit of a cheek selling honey that cheap and it does annoy me a bit.

 

[oliver90owner]

product of the EU and outside the EU

Should mean the main ingredient is (European honey)? Like, more than 50%?

Or could it mean that more is actually sourced from outside the EU? Say, 15% from the EU and 7 lots of 12% from 7 other countries as an example?

Depends on how wording is allowed? Anybody know for sure?

Could also mean that it had to be blended to reduce the nasties, contained in some samples, to get the overall result below the permitted maximums? (antibiotics, pesticides, for eg)

Either way, it is possible that it also contains unwanted pathogens (for the bees). (AFB)

Regards, RAB

 

[Tom Bick]

Hi Enzo its not just the honey thats bad at Tesco a good proportion of everything els is bad to

 

[Chris B]

Hi all,
supermarket honey at ridiculously low prices is what is known as a "loss leader". Honey is an ideal candidate for this because it is always relatively low volume sales but makes the supermarket appear good value.
Also there is not always correlation between quality of the honey and price in supermarkets. I found a rather good Italian chestnut honey in Morrisons for £1.68 last year. It was only available for a month or so - maybe people got wise to it and bought the lot?

 

[Frisbee]

Through the winter I was scanning sheep for some people who run a farm shop.....we got talking about bees and honey, they said they had a local source and the supply was about to run out, so maybe they would stock some of mine after. When we had finished I went into the shop and had a look, it was a honey from the local village and they had it on the shelf for £2.50 a lb jar . When the lady came in she mentioned it again and I said I had seen it and the price and that I didn't think they could afford mine and that I sell mine to shops for £4 a lb jar and recommend they sell it on for £5 - £5.50. I don't know who the local beeks are, but the price they are selling to the shop cannot possibly cover their costs, maybe they had a good year and are relatively new, but it's a ridiculous price. We mustn't underprice good English (or Welsh/Scottish/Irish/Channel island) honey. The stuff they sell in the supermarket doesn't often bear any resemblence, and of course we must always remember the supermarket often dictates the price, as small producers we are less at their mercy than a commercial producer who by sheer volume produced will be A) able to sell at a lower price and B) have a greater need to get in some income, as it may well be their living.

Frisbee

 

[Heather]

Buy cr.p - pay cr.p prices

 

[cutnrun]

It was my understanding that alot (not all i assume) of honey in supermarkets was blended. This serves a few purposes.

As RAB said it can be used to reduce the levels of various “extras” to below legal guidelines, It allow cheap poor quality honey to be added to reduce the overall cost, and it allows the blend to maintain a consistent flavour across multiple batches. This will allow a customer who likes the honey to get the same flavour time and time again.

Very similar to whisky.

I prefer single malts from smaller distilleries because of the specific flavours that are gained from the local conditions, not blended malts.

 

[Poly Hive]

There is never a problem selling well presented clean quality honey at a good price.

I agree with Frisbee here.

Highest I have seen is £11-99 per pound in a standard squat jar.

If you dinna ask you winna get people. It's that simple. Play with your prices until you find what sells for the best return to you for the least resistance.

PH