[Terri]

I am thinking about labels here, and customer loyalty, and ????

Can I buy in bulk, and put my own label on it? As a producer, I can sell my own honey, but do I need a special kitchen if I buy and resell? Or, should I try for getting the producer to provide me with labels and sell on commision?

I know 2 gents with a permanant vegetable stands that I would like to try, they could likely move a lot of honey.

 

[Robert Hawkins]

Terri, if I sell honey to you wholesale that makes you my customer. You have the right to inspect my hives and recommend changes if I want to keep you as a customer. Your recommendations would be protecting the interests of your customers.

Labelling would probably be wildflower honey which is kind of all inclusive. the laws of your state would dictate whether or not you as a reseller need special accomodations. If so, you can always require me to bottle and you just resell.

Hawk

 

[HRM]

Sellers at Farmers markets will often supplement their produce with purchased items. It is not a big deal. If the label is accurate (pure honey) then I don't think there is any problem. If it says "local honey", then that has to be accurate also. Just as long as the label is correct, whatever that may be, you are good to go. Anything misleading will be the problem.

Looking at the things they sell now, you can't tell because the fresh vegtables are not labeled. It could be most things are not grown by them at various times of the year, the honey will just be one more item.

That is my opinion, Kansas, being a state that raises and sells lots of produce, may have regulations, but in CT, I don't know of any, nor do I know of who would enforce laws if there were any.

 

[Joel]

Terri, you should check with both your Dept. of Agriculture and your Health Department. In NY if you sell what you produce, direct retail, you do not have to be inspected. If you buy from someone else and/or you sell wholesale you are required to be inspected, not by Dept. of Health but by the State Ag. Dept. Make sure your honey if displayed at stands is not in direct sunlight as it will degrade the color and flavor of your honey.

As far as sales, we want payment when you take the product however we will exchange any honey that crystalizes if our label is on it. We want only the best quality product to the consumer and it easy to liquify.

I disagree with just labeling honey as wildflower. (it should be 1 choice) Do your best to isolate colors and flavors, learn the floral sources and label accordingly. People like choices. You could call honey Basswood, Clover, Prarie Blossom, Lake Blossom, dependant on what is in the honey and the area where the producing hives are located.

Don't overlook your local farmers markets and stock sales, both good place to do direct sales and increase you profits.

Good luck, sell a ton!

 

[iddee]

I know nothing about inspections or labeling, but in NC you can sell your produced honey sales tax free. If you buy honey and resale it, you must have a tax number, and charge and pay sales tax.

 

[Curry]

Honey is a commodity just like peaches, soybeans, or hog bellies. I've sold it a lot of times to other people at the farmers market, who, in turn, sell it for more. Or, other people will buy it there and sell it in their store.

This last year I sold out as I extracted it- and still had people requesting hundreds of quarts which I couldn't fill. One guy in particular wanted a hundred quarts so he could sell it in the late fall for a premium, cause no one else would have honey then.

 

[searcher]

The General doesn't have to list each one of its grain growers to produce Honey Nut Cheerios for market. Reporting/advertising facts would never be unethical. Honesty builds trust with your suppliers and your customers. But then what do I know. I'm just an old boy scout.

 

[Robert Hawkins]

Still an asst. scout master and my above still holds. If you can't tell what flowers your suppliers used you should list it as wildflower honey. That's true and legal and ethical. If you are sure of the flower, you can list it.

Hawk

 

[searcher]

I agree Robert. I was actually talking about the people side and not the collection of nectar so much. She asked "Can I buy in bulk, and put my own label on it?"

 

[Sundance]

I don't see ethics being an issue as long as you are not representing the honey as product you collected and bottled.

 

[Joel]

Wildflower is boring, run of the mill. Prarie Bloom paints a picture in the buyers mind, will double your sales and is just as honest! You should learn your specific floral honeys' colors and tastes before using them as names, agreed.

 

[Robert Hawkins]

Joel, is it just as honest? Or is wildflower a standard in the honey industry?

Hawk

 

[Jim Fischer]

I would never put my label on someone else's
honey, period.

The most ethical approach would be to have a
"bottled by" label for such honey, as you are
acting as a "packer" or "dealer" rather than
a "producer". Farmers markets are intended
to allow the producer to sell his/her own
produce direct to the consumer. To appear at
a farmer's market with produce that is not your
own is inherently "fraudulent", in that the
customer expects to be buying from the producer
directly.

Yes, I know lots of people do supplement their
offerings or "round out" their product selection
with purchased items. It is tolerated, but it
is not 100% ethical unless you label things with
proper labels.

 

[MichaelW]

We get alot of honey aroung here labeled as "Packed for Griffith Produce" I'm assuming they are packing various people's honey. The label looks rather generic, but Griffith Produce is large and you get some sense of a "brand" without it saying it is one beekeepers honey. It could be done more creatively.