# How much to sell honey for?



## gfbees13 (Sep 25, 2014)

I sell my pints wholesale for $8. The health food store I sell it to sell my pints for $12. $12 a quart is a bargain.


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

We sell retain @ $10 per Lb. No price cuts until they are buying 5 gal buckets.


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## jrose1970 (Apr 1, 2014)

Hi VitamanBee!
Here is a link that gave me an idea.
http://www.honey.com/honey-industry/honey-industry-statistics/unit-honey-prices-by-month-retail/
I haven't had any trouble selling it, but our 7 children still at home keep eating it! LOL That's what it is for!
Thanks.


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## dsegrest (May 15, 2014)

I target $8 per #. It is a little more in a pint or half-pint and a little less in a quart. Honey ways 1 1/2 time water so a half pint jar is 12 oz.


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## bmat555 (Oct 18, 2012)

I sold all my last years production for $8 per lb. Most in pint or quart jars. It went pretty fast at that price.


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## VitaminBee (Aug 17, 2013)

KQ6AR said:


> We sell retain @ $10 per Lb.


What is retain, Dan? Gfbees, I can say this about that quart, I'll never buy is again, even at half the price. Ew. So sounds like $25 a quart is reasonable then, yes?


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## Hobo (Mar 4, 2014)

KQ6AR said:


> We sell retain @ $10 per Lb.





VitaminBee said:


> What is retain, Dan?


I'm gonna guess he meant to type "retail".


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

KQ6AR said:


> We sell retain @ $10 per Lb. No price cuts until they are buying 5 gal buckets.


The "left" coast gets a little more than the "right" coast!


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## mathesonequip (Jul 9, 2012)

bee culture magazine publishes a monthly price summary by region for both wholesale and resale and retail average prices. this is a good place to start. city market prices are more than rural prices.so then get as much as you can.


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## VitaminBee (Aug 17, 2013)

Thanks, Jrose, I'll check out that link! Hobo, I'll bet you are correct. That makes sense. I thought maybe it was referencing the last of the batch in some way.


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## burns375 (Jul 15, 2013)

I am about $8/lb plus the container cost *2x. I have no problem selling at those prices. Often folks think its a good deal. People I know well, co-workers etc is around $6/lb 

Outside the city, south of Louisville the price is closer to $5-6lb.


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## Margot1d (Jun 23, 2012)

It totally depends on your market. It's a matter of supply and demand. I sell of $11 for 8oz to stores who sell 8oz for $18. 

I would not feel good about selling crystalized honey. It can be heated but I wonder how this might affect the claim that the honey is raw? I would be interested to hear other's thoughts on this.


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## ramdino (Jan 26, 2013)

$10/1#
$15/2#
$18/3#.
I sell by the pound.I got about a buck in the container and label.I can sell ask I want to at this price
I only sold it in 1# this fall and marketed it as great Christmas gifts.
My profit is better in smaller quantities.I did a few 2# &3# toI close friends.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

VitaminBee said:


> I've never sold my honey before. I have somebody wanting some. What do you sell your pints and quarts for? The last time I bought some was from an old timer and he sold a quart for $12. I would rather keep it than sell it for that. Also, what I've got is the last of the batch. Does that make it worth less? It's darker, pollen rich, but some people may not like that. I have yet to ask. I would love to hear what affects how you price, or even if you price the same no matter what. One jar I bottled looked like it may have some crystallizing starting. Does that affect price? Thanks for your input.


Sell it for $12.00 per Pint. Don't worry about the crystalization because that shows it's Raw. If you don't think enough of your honey to charge a lot for it neither will anyone else.


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## burns375 (Jul 15, 2013)

Margot1d said:


> It totally depends on your market. It's a matter of supply and demand. I sell of $11 for 8oz to stores who sell 8oz for $18.
> 
> I would not feel good about selling crystalized honey. It can be heated but I wonder how this might affect the claim that the honey is raw? I would be interested to hear other's thoughts on this.


$36/lb wow thats just stupid. For same cost of 2lb of honey in the store, I could buy 36 gallons of gas at $1.96/gal and drive to new york. 

Hives reach 90 something degrees so anythign below that would be fine imo.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Margot1d said:


> It totally depends on your market. It's a matter of supply and demand. I sell of $11 for 8oz to stores who sell 8oz for $18.
> 
> I would not feel good about selling crystalized honey. It can be heated but I wonder how this might affect the claim that the honey is raw? I would be interested to hear other's thoughts on this.


If you sell raw honey it will crystalize, if it hasn't already prior to the selling. If the customer wants raw honey and then has to heat it to use it, that's their choice. Give them what they want.

I would think that someone who wholesales honey for $22.00 per pound would not have a hard time with that way of seeing things.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

burns375 said:


> $36/lb wow thats just stupid. For same cost of 2lb of honey in the store, I could buy 36 gallons of gas at $1.96/gal and drive to new york.
> 
> Hives reach 90 something degrees so anythign below that would be fine imo.


Margot lives in and sells her honey in Brooklyn burns. Everything costs in Brooklyn.


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

Margot1d said:


> I sell of $11 for 8oz to stores


Do you think you could do this if you had a lot of product?


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

cg3 said:


> Do you think you could do this if you had a lot of product?


Planning a trip to The City Charlie?


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

Naw. I was just wondering if the "supply and demand" was of hipsters.


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

cg3 said:


> Naw. I was just wondering if the "supply and demand" was of hipsters.


locavores and hipsters, and 2 or 3 hives of production.

natures way farm sells a lot of honey at the farmers/green markets all over the city.
he sells for less.


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## burns375 (Jul 15, 2013)

sqkcrk said:


> Planning a trip to The City Charlie?


I wonder if its even treatment and syrup free honey.... bees foraging on remnants of 64oz sodas in the trash. hehehe


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## Margot1d (Jun 23, 2012)

To cg3,
I think it depends how you market it. I have some friends who sell for the same price and I believe they are sitting on some but I think it will sell by spring because stores really demand it then and there is usually none left. Interestingly enough the stores seem happy with the price. The whole point is that city folks want local honey and you can only really get away with having a few hives in the city so there will never be that much supply.

Mark is right, I think the market can bare higher prices but you find people who hesitate to charge more. Selling for low prices really hurts not only you but all the other beekeepers you are undercutting. It cost a certain amount t0 make a product. Even my prices I am not getting a fair hourly wage for the time I put in (granted I am a bit obsessed). Hobbyist love what they do but what about the folks who do it full time?

The reason I would not sell crystalized honey is because I sell it for so much, I want it perfect. I read in a book that it's bad form, and that the beekeeper should even take it back. Interesting to hear other opinions.


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

clyderoad said:


> locavores and hipsters


 Hey, I don't have a problem with that. We have our share even out here in the boonies. And I know folks gleefully taking advantage of "what the market will bear". I don't have a problem with that either.
But I, and I assume the OP, are not in it for a living. I do enjoy providing a quality food product, but even at my $8/lb, my price is out of reach for most of my neighbors. I'm more than covering costs, I feel no need to squeeze every last cent from my measly few hundred pounds. But that's just me.


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

Margot1d said:


> The reason I would not sell crystalized honey is because I sell it for so much, I want it perfect.


All raw honey eventually crystallizes. If your customers want an expensive natural product and aren't informed enough to know that, maybe your marketing could help educate them. I keep hearing stories of people insisting that UNcrystallized honey could not possibly be raw.


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## VitaminBee (Aug 17, 2013)

This is very informative conversation - thanks! Yes, I am a hobby beek. And living in the Midwest, incomes are certainly not what NYC's are, but still, the time and effort is so huge and it seems the payback so disproportionate. Most people around here seem to sell cheap, I'd rather keep or give away than sell so cheaply. But it's end of season, someone is inquiring, and I have just about 1 qt to spare, so I was thinking why not?

Again, great input here. Thanks so much!


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## clyderoad (Jun 10, 2012)

cg3 said:


> All raw honey eventually crystallizes. If your customers want an expensive natural product and aren't informed enough to know that, maybe your marketing could help educate them. I keep hearing stories of people insisting that UNcrystallized honey could not possibly be raw.


The real foodies expect the honey to be crystallized when they buy it or soon there after. The light spring honey takes forever to crystallize as you know, and they wonder if it's raw even after explaining that it will eventually do so, just wait I tell them. I don't think they believe me until it finally happens.
As to price, here the quantity of truly local raw honey is limited and it receives a premium price from those who desire it. I can only think that in the NYC boroughs the market forces are greater.


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## bevy's honeybees (Apr 21, 2011)

Margot1d;1197648
I would not feel good about selling crystalized honey... I would be interested to hear other's thoughts on this.[/QUOTE said:


> As we don't get much cool weather in my area, I just started experimenting with crystalized honey face scrubs. I stumbled on a site awhile back where a lady was selling a 3 oz jar, professionally and beautifully packaged, of pure honey that had crystalized as a face scrub. Listed at $20 a jar. Dr Oz had a segment about crystalized honey face scrubs. This year for the first time I have some honey that crystalized. I got some small plastic containers, made up a little info sheet and sold 3 out of my 4 containers I brought to my honey table over the weekend. I only asked $3 per 2 oz jar, as the packaging was "cheap" and it was an experiment.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Margot1d said:


> To cg3,
> I think it depends how you market it. I have some friends who sell for the same price and I believe they are sitting on some but I think it will sell by spring because stores really demand it then and there is usually none left. Interestingly enough the stores seem happy with the price. The whole point is that city folks want local honey and you can only really get away with having a few hives in the city so there will never be that much supply.
> 
> Mark is right, I think the market can bare higher prices but you find people who hesitate to charge more. Selling for low prices really hurts not only you but all the other beekeepers you are undercutting. It cost a certain amount t0 make a product. Even my prices I am not getting a fair hourly wage for the time I put in (granted I am a bit obsessed). Hobbyist love what they do but what about the folks who do it full time?
> ...


Throw out that book Margot. There is nothing imperfect about crystrallized honey. Crystallization is natural, it's what all honeys do after a time. Even heated and strained honey.

Why don't you charge more Margot?


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## VitaminBee (Aug 17, 2013)

dsegrest said:


> I target $8 per #. It is a little more in a pint or half-pint and a little less in a quart. Honey ways 1 1/2 time water so a half pint jar is 12 oz.


My quart jar weighs 43 ounces. If 1/2 pint weighs 12 oz, my weight is way off. What am I missing?


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## jrose1970 (Apr 1, 2014)

That's right. Get what you can out of it. It is time the American farmer got paid!  My poor ol' Grandfather died a pauper in Georgia from farming.
In 1950, land was $100 per acre tops. Tractors were about $2000 and corn was $2 per bushel. In 2014, land is $10,000 per acre, (depending on where you are) tractors are $15-30,000 and corn is $3 per bushel. Hmmmm. Real food costs money to produce. We raise eggs too. In reality, we have $5 a dozen in them if you count feeding the chickens year round.
The chickens are not cooped up and the eggs taste good. Same goes for real honey!


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## VitaminBee (Aug 17, 2013)

Jrose, I think many people are finally starting to appreciate "quality" in food. Having my own (small) garden has sure hastened my appreciation for farmers and our food system! Those stats you listed - pretty sad...


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## jcolon (Sep 12, 2014)

By crystallized, what are you referring to? I'm thinking we are talking about creamed honey, correct? Also, how does the weight gets affected by the creaming process? I would assume that the density is lower given the that some air is trapped in it.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

jcolon, all honey, but two, crystalizes naturally unless heat is applied to it to liquify any naturally formed or forming crystals in that honey. Creamed honey is made by heating a batch of honey and adding a fine grained crystal of honey to it to make that batch of honey become creamy in texture, and not as much a solid as naturally crystalized honey can become.

You mentioned in your last question "that some air is trapped in it". That, to me, sounds like what I would call "Whipped honey". Creamed Honey and Whipped Honey are two different forms of the same thing. As are Raw Honey and Liquid Honey.

It would be good to better understand what Margot1d meant by what she was asking about or referring to.


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## jcolon (Sep 12, 2014)

>all honey, but two, crystalizes naturally unless heat is applied to it to liquify any naturally formed or forming crystals in that honey.
This i know. seen it many times. 

> Creamed honey is made by heating a batch of honey and adding a fine grained crystal of honey to it to make that batch of honey become creamy in texture, and not as much a solid as naturally crystalized honey can become.
This ive never seen it done, but heard of. 

>Creamed Honey and Whipped Honey are two different forms of the same thing.
This i didn't know the difference. Thanks for the clarification. 

>I stumbled on a site awhile back where a lady was selling a 3 oz jar, professionally and beautifully packaged, of pure honey that had crystalized as a face scrub.

My question really is how you make a scrub out of crystallized honey. Grind it to pulverize it? Mix it with more honey?


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## imkerwannabee (Feb 27, 2012)

I raised my price from $4.00 to $4.50 per pound this year, plus 75¢ for the jar, regardless of size‚ half-cup to gallon. Would be glad to go higher, but other locals are selling for less. A pleasant reminder that I'm not in this for the money!


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## johng (Nov 24, 2009)

cg3 said:


> All raw honey eventually crystallizes. If your customers want an expensive natural product and aren't informed enough to know that, maybe your marketing could help educate them. I keep hearing stories of people insisting that UNcrystallized honey could not possibly be raw.


I agree Cg3. That Really Raw Honey Company has done a good job of advertising. And it has some people really confused. I normally have to explain what raw honey is to a couple people each market.


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## jcolon (Sep 12, 2014)

imkerwannabee said:


> I raised my price from $4.00 to $4.50 per pound this year, plus 75¢ for the jar, regardless of size‚ half-cup to gallon. Would be glad to go higher, but other locals are selling for less. A pleasant reminder that I'm not in this for the money!


So how can you market your product so that your customers see the value added and sets you apart from the pack. We can't fall in the price war trap. Honey cant be sold as a commodity. We have to make it a luxury item in the eyes of the customer. I know, i don't sell any honey yet. But when I do i will look for ways to make it a luxury product. Something so unique that you can only buy in this specific location during a limited time of the year, etc etc. We all know all honey is not equal. We are not selling sugar or corn. We need to entice the buyers and present our product as unique, limited, exquisite...


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## mathesonequip (Jul 9, 2012)

the only way to win a price war is to not participate. find a different way or place to market your product.. a couple of years ago my brother in mass. was selling produce several days a week in the south boston market. some menonites started cutting prices especially against each other. my brother only sends a truck on sunday now, no price cutters. the market volume dropped off on the in season price cut days and the monday market day closed. the sataurday one is slower now, the sunday market is fine. the price cutters only showed up to dump product. you do not need the lowest price. you do need to sell quality at a fair for the market price on a regular schedule, if it does not work move on. my brother and sister in law do better with 1 crew in 5 or 6 daily markets than they used to with 2+ crews and 16 or 17 markets.


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## jcolon (Sep 12, 2014)

That's what I'm talking about!



mathesonequip said:


> the only way to win a price war is to not participate. find a different way or place to market your product.. a couple of years ago my brother in mass. was selling produce several days a week in the south boston market. some menonites started cutting prices especially against each other. my brother only sends a truck on sunday now, no price cutters. the market volume dropped off on the in season price cut days and the monday market day closed. the sataurday one is slower now, the sunday market is fine. the price cutters only showed up to dump product. you do not need the lowest price. you do need to sell quality at a fair for the market price on a regular schedule, if it does not work move on. my brother does better with 1 crew in 5 or 6 daily markets than he used to with 2 crews and 16 or 17.


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## mathesonequip (Jul 9, 2012)

sell quality not price.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

I get the price cutting on fresh produce as its not going to be much good a week later. The great thing about honey, though, is it keeps. Thank goodness. Takes all the pressure off of marketing and allows better tax planning.


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## Michael B (Feb 6, 2010)

It seems everyone is looking for a deal. I sell bulk wholesale for $4/lb and retail for $8/lb. I sell 80% of my crop as wholesale.


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

jcolon said:


> We need to entice the buyers and present our product as unique, limited, exquisite...


 You will have no problem doing that. 'Raw' 'local' honey already is a luxury product with a limited supply. Through word of mouth alone, I sell out. By raising prices I could delay the date that the honey runs out but I feel that I already get a fair price- substantially more than my sideliner buddy who works bees fulltime and produces virtually the same product.
But I'm selling a foodstuff, not art. You can indeed market to folks who are concerned more with the presentation than the taste and it does sell higher. I'm thinking the crystallization issue was with how honey appears on the shelf. Big companies deal with this by ultrafiltration and heat- incompatible with 'raw'.


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## jcolon (Sep 12, 2014)

How much you sell for cg3?


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

Normal retail is $8/lb. Higher in a fancy container.


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## jcolon (Sep 12, 2014)

Not bad. Any comb honey? I think it's much more valuable. Not sure how it performs in the market.


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

jcolon said:


> comb honey? I think it's much more valuable.


I tried, but found little interest.


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## jcolon (Sep 12, 2014)

Customers... to me growing up it was the only honey I knew. Maybe that's why it's so attractive to me...


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

I was surprised too.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

jcolon said:


> Not bad. Any comb honey? I think it's much more valuable. Not sure how it performs in the market.


I buy miniframe combs for $5.00 and sell them for $10.00 to stores that mark them up to $14.00 or $14.99. I have already sold half of the 200 some that I bought in October.

One thing about selling honey and selling honey in stores. Honey sales go in spurts. One day or week you will see honey flying off the shelf and then you will see a long time with slow movement. Another thing is that it take a while to established and for sales to start picking up. Don't expect to put honey on a grocery store shelf and have to go back again in a week. It takes time for people to notice your honey and then for them to need more.

If you are going to sell honey in a grocery store or a number of grocery stores then you really should have enough product to fill the space all year around. If a grocery store owner is willing to buy your honey you should be reliable enough to keep the shelf filled. For someone with a limited amount of honey to sell you might want to limit your jar size to one pound jars or squeeze bears, or maybe both. But not any more than you can handle.


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## Eduardo Gomes (Nov 10, 2014)

sqkcrk said:


> It takes time for people to notice your honey and then for them to need more.... If you are going to sell honey in a grocery store or a number of grocery stores then you really should have enough product to fill the space all year around.


So true! I feel exactely de same.


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

So, Eduardo, what to you get for honey?


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## Eduardo Gomes (Nov 10, 2014)

This year in retail sales to average my price is 5.35 €/kg ($ 6,51/ 2.20 pounds).


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## Eduardo Gomes (Nov 10, 2014)

cg3 said:


> I'm thinking the crystallization issue was with how honey appears on the shelf.


For now we also have the problem of crystallization hinder sales. Some more informed consumers already associate the crystallized honey (with a homogeneous crystallization) to a high quality product , not blended and unheated. Yet most still look aside for this honey. In Portugal we have to get the message that the crsitalizado honey is a sign of its quality. I always inform my clients about it. The best advertising is the quality of honey and advertising that my satisfied customers do. An essential part to maintaining the market is the consistency in the quality and responsiveness over the years .


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## VitaminBee (Aug 17, 2013)

My comment on the crystallization was simply that I don't know how it is viewed by the consumer. Some folks love it, I'm told. Some folks see it as a negative. I guess I am thinking most view it that way. Like something is "wrong" with the honey. Of course there is not, but I read somewhere not to sell it, since it meant it wasn't the freshest. The only downside I can see to it is that if the customer prefers it in liquid form, then heat will have to be applied. I really encourage folks not to worry about the crystallization, but there's no changing some folk's mind. So I wouldn't even try. Educate, yes. But I was just looking for what your experience has told you about how people feel about crystallized. If it's negative, I can know that I might adjust the price lower. 

The face scrub is an awesome idea!


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

When honey crystalizes on the store shelf some times I encourage the store owner to raise the price.


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## VitaminBee (Aug 17, 2013)

That's interesting, Mark. And that's mostly because it's proof that it's "real" honey?


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## bevy's honeybees (Apr 21, 2011)

jcolon said:


> >
> 
> > Creamed honey is made by heating a batch of honey and adding a fine grained crystal of honey to it to make that batch of honey become creamy in texture, and not as much a solid as naturally crystalized honey can become.
> This ive never seen it done, but heard of.
> ...


The crystalized honey I'm using for scrubs is coarser crystal of honey. I also made creamed honey a few weeks back as we had a week of night temps in the mid 50's. It is much smoother than the honey I'm using for scrubs. I pour off all liquid and jar the crystalized, nothing more. 

Well, a bunch of noise outside, fireworks going crazy and I wondered what's going on. It's 2015!


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