Making Money, Honey: Pricing Your Honey
Whether you have a few hives and want to sell a bit of your honey at the local farmer’s market or you are running a large wholesale operation, you will need to decide how much to charge for your honey. Your honey is the product of hours of hard work— both on your part and on the part of your bees. Pricing your honey appropriately is crucial, and considering the following will help streamline this process.
Your expenses
Pricing your honey is really about how much it costs you to make your honey. The best place to start is to consider the amount of money it requires to keep your operation running. Beekeeping expenses always vary by year, but keeping track of how much you spend on land, equipment, registration and licenses, honey processing, transportation, etc. will help you get a better sense of how to price your honey.
Consider also the time that goes into running your operation and how you would like to be compensated for your time. This is one aspect that many beekeepers forget to account for. Is this a hobby business and you’d be perfectly happy breaking even, or not being compensated for your time? Or, would you like to be compensated as if this was a job or true money-making venture?
Knowing your market
Another crucial component is knowing the market you’re selling your honey in. Start by researching the rates at which your competitors sell honey and compare their products with your own. Sometimes pricing your product higher, usually in a retail setting, may increase the perceived value of your product. If you’re looking to sell your honey wholesale, you want to ensure you can provide a consistent product that will fetch loyalty from your clients. So before you sell, start by shopping around first!
Bottling Costs
The bottling and packaging process of making your honey product for retail will play a large part in your pricing. Here, you really need to decide who you are selling to; whether they are customers looking for a high-end product to give as a gift or honey for daily use in cooking or baking. When you choose your honey bottles, there are benefits to both. Consider that glass is:
- Easy to sanitize
- More aesthetically appealing
- Easy to recycle
- Better for long term storage
On the other hand, plastic is generally:
- Lighter
- Squeezable
- Cheaper
- Less fragile, and therefore can be longer lasting
Whichever bottle type you choose, be sure to keep your honey sealed and store in a cool place.
Floral source
Your bees’ nectar sources impact the flavor and value of your honey. Many people are willing to pay more for specific nectar sources, such as from short-blooming Tupelo trees. If a certain nectar source takes more effort or requires travel to obtain, then charging a higher price is a good idea.
If your bees feed on organic crops or wildflowers in protected areas, they are less likely to come in contact with pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. The USDA does not recognize organic honey made in the United States, but beekeepers can register for their product to be Certified Naturally Grown. This certification accounts for efforts to reduce bees’ exposure to pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides and can add value to honey, if you sell to market that find that valuable.
Processing
How you process your honey can also impact the value of your honey. Some beekeepers may pasteurize honey by heating it to 71°C (160°F) to kill yeast cells that contribute to fermentation. This process can also slow crystallization by dissolving crystals that are already present. Pasteurization adds another step to honey processing and can make the honey more useful for commercial purposes. In some markets, pasteurized honey is valuable. However, pasteurizing can impact the honey’s overall taste, aroma, and consistency, impacting quality and lowering its value in the retail setting.
Often, honey labeled as “raw honey” can fetch a higher price in the retail or consumer market. Raw honey is honey that has not been pasteurized or finely filtered. The honey is strained through a coarse filter to remove insect parts and pieces of comb, but pollen grains remain in the honey. Sometimes honey is also labelled as “pure” to emphasize that nothing is added to the honey and make it appear more valuable.
Presentation & marketing
Your label can also impact perceived value and is another place to consider your audience and the uses for your honey. You may opt to have a decorative design or a personalized logo for your honey brand. Consider the costs of label designs and printing different types of labels when pricing your honey. Be sure to adhere to national and regional standards when labeling your honey. A visually appealing and trustworthy product is a popular one and will allow you to price your honey at a higher value.
Other considerations
As a beekeeper, there will always be things outside your control. The National Annual Honey Report gathers data each year assessing seasonal and environmental impacts on honey yields and pricing. Factors like weather can greatly impact nectar flow and overall bee health can impact honey yields.
There is much to consider when pricing your honey, but it is important to remember that certain markets are willing to pay handsomely for a trustworthy, quality product made by a local or US beekeeper. Knowing your competition and considering your market will be your biggest asset.