Marketing your honey

[Maggiesdad]

Time for a new thread!

I'm interested in how you market your surplus - everything from packages to prices to clientele. Let 'er rip!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Not enough surplus yet.

 

[Maggiesdad]

A fellow can dream, right?!

My second nuc is now queenright and full of capped brood... so of my best hive, I now have four. I need to make longer TBHs for the two nucs, 'cuz they are gonna be busting with bees soon. They are sitting in 50 acres of soy... first blooms opened just yesterday.

 

[OneFineAcre]

My wife manages a farmer's market and one of her vendors sells honey. I think they do really well. I don't know how much they sell on average, but I did hear them mention a couple of weeks ago that they had a good day and that was $500 in sales from 9am to 1pm the market hours.

They also sell via a website.

www.baxtersbees.com

http://beedowntown.org/beekeeper-month/november-beekeeper-month/

 

[misfitmorgan]

We have a local lady here who sells honey sometimes. We have several farmers markets around us within about a 1hr drive. When she sells at the clsest market to us in a small town of about 400 people she makes between $50-$150/day. When she sells in the bigger towns with around 12,000 people she makes between $200-400/day. If she makes the trip down to the eastern market about 4hrs away she makes roughly $400-700/day. So it definately depends on your market on what the surplus honey can make you, she also adjusts her prices based on the market. She however does not diversify. She sells jars of honey and that is it. No comb nothing else just raw honey in a jar. If/when i market honey i plan to market raw honey, honey comb, spun honey, honey soap, and beeswax assuming all of it falls under cottage industry laws for my state, i think it does. I need more research but diversity in products you offer or offering something different then other vendors is always good for sales.

 

[misfitmorgan]

I did look like up the law for honey sales and it seems michigan has a honey and maple syrup exemption. It is not covered under cottage food laws but you can sell it retail or wholesale to retailers to sell for you as long as it is labeled correctly. So you may want to check you state.