I have heard that the best way to sell extracted honey is in a 12 oz clear honeybear.
Is this true?
Just out of curiosity, if you just had to sell your honey, what would you put it in to assure quick and easy sales?
Size in ounces, shape/style, clear, semi-clear, plastic, glass...?
thanks,
Jason G
Jason,
I think 12 oz bears are probably the best. I prefer the semi-clear bears as opposed to the clear ones, the plastic is a little hard on the clear bears. Also I and most of my customers prefer the cone tops to the flat flip lids. Less mess I think...
As for jars I think standard pints and quarts are great. Once you have established customers you'll probably sell a lot of quarts and the really loyal customers will bring their old jar back for refills.
You have different markets and I'd try to hit all of them a little. I find the "Antique" Muth Jars (I get them from Brushy Mt.) are popular around Christmas for gifts and other times for the novelty. I also sell different colors of honey in the small hex jars. I sell the larger amounts in plastic Queenlines or mason jars or have them bring their own.
Some people eat a lot of honey and are looking for a good price, not a fancy package.
Some people eat a little honey and want the convienice of a flip top dispenser.
Some people are interested in the novelty or the high quality of your product. For them I have the Muth jars and the different colored honey in hex jars and the Chunk comb in the 2 pound jars and the cut comb in the trays.
I would do a little of everything. The small fancy jars you sell for more money.
I find the 12 oz bear is too small. The 24 oz bear is my biggest seller and prefered over the 12 oz 3 to 1.
I suppose I forgot to ask about how much you get for above said items generally.
JG in TN
I guess what I also was wanting to know as well is is there a certain container that profits more per pound than others?
Jason G
Well, I didn't get much honey this year because I just did splits instead to get bees to sell and more hives. So I'm not up on the current high prices.
I usually sell a 12 oz honey bear for $3 but will cut a deal for more than one.
I usually sell the 8 oz muth jars for $4 and the 4 oz for $2.50.
In large bottles or their bottles, I try to sell for what the grocery store sells for with much higher (unheated coarsely filtered) quality. I'm not up on the current price at the grocery store right now.
Sell for what the market will pay. It is easy to drop the price but hard to raise it. I start with the super market price and then talk about where it comes from and the benifits for local honey vs import. But a little taste ALWAYS sells them. Move more 1 and 2 pounders then anything.
Bee Culture publishes a monthly honey pricing report by area of the country listing many types of packages (12 oz bears, 16 oz bears, 1 lb queenline, 2 lb queenline, pints, quarts, cut comb, chunk comb, rounds, barrel, etc.). Very informative particularly for wholesale prices.
Local retail prices are a lot easier to find out.
I was visiting friends this weekend in Wisconsin. They had 2-pound jars that they had purchased at a local farmers' market for $4. I think the seller needs to take a quick stroll through the local markets and stores and see current prices.
I >>>REALLY<<< like the bakers and
large families that say "I'd like
a 5-gallon pail, please".
Most of them even wash and RETURN the
empty pails! I love 'em!
jim
I am interested at only producing enough honey for my own household at this point, so I dont have esperience in this matter (yet) but the beekeeper's meeting I attended last night had a program by a local beekeeper/lawyer who brought up many interesting facts.
Regarding containers, you may wish to look into any regulations that may apply. For instance, there are specifics on how much filtering can be done, and where you can sell from if you dont feel like registering with the gov't for their anti-terrorism act or if you wish to call your product 'organic' or 'natural'. It may be that you are then limited to only cut comb or a specific jar that works best with the level of processing you will be doing in addition to what the customer likes to see.
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