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Author Topic: selling honey  (Read 29632 times)

Offline Carriage House Farm

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Re: selling honey
« Reply #40 on: February 14, 2008, 10:34:20 am »
Thom

Are your buyers local or part of a vacation crowd?

Just curious.



Hi Everyone Ive been pretty busy so I haven't been here in a while.
I have been slowly working on my Beekeeping business and I sell My Honey for $10.00 a pound. I Package My Honey in Jelly jars That you can get at Wal-mart. My 4 OZ. jars go for $3.00 dollars, My 8 oz. jars go for $5.00 and I can fit a lb of honey in 12 oz. jars selling them for $8.00. The funny thing is that nobody bought the 1 lb. I had to rebottle them in 8 OZ jars. Customers would buy 2 or three of these at a time. I usaully give away the 4 oz jars and the customers have always come back with cash for more. I feel that if I keep the prices in the "pocket change" area that the customer has no problem paying a premium price. I sell every bit that I harvest and usually have to go buy honey From a friend for $6.00 lb for our own use. I let my customers know that I don't use chemicals and I feed my bees honey during the winter. I also express that there is a limited amount and the Jars give it an quality look. We are currently getting ready to go from 4 hives to 14 hives this year.  I had the Wal-mart Manager ask me to put honey on their shelves but I declined. I feel that it would "cheapen" my Honeys image. Because my  3 acre "farm" is in a somewhat residential district, I locate some of My hives on 3 Farmers properties. All three have noticed an increase in produce and asked for as many hives as I can put there. One guy even Made a road for Me. I charge Nothing and give them Honey in Exchange.They also sell some of my honey at their farms. I already have advance orders for about 350 lbs. next year and I am also starting to look into growing Mushrooms ( i Own and acre Of Cedar swamp.) I hope this helps and Good luck to everyone. Here Is to a SWEET season this year.
Richard Stewart
Carriage House Farm
North Bend, Ohio

An Ohio Century Farm

Offline ThomBee

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Re: selling honey
« Reply #41 on: February 15, 2008, 08:46:51 am »
Hi,
My customers are local. I get lots of repeat customers, all from giving away that small jar or taking a jar to work and leaving it in the break room. I also found that alot of people appreciate the natural, no chemicals idea. We will be living on our property and I plan on putting out some signs by the highway on the weekends. Iam sure that will bring in the tourist crowd. Also I was surprise when the local health inspector (for my new septic) bought some and the zoning board official also bought some.
Buying local does not mean your local wal*mart

Offline ooptec

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Re: selling honey
« Reply #42 on: February 15, 2008, 11:16:03 am »
Speaking of 'sign by the highway' how many of you-all's locations is it a custom to leave a table w/some honey (produce, whatever) on it w/a small lock box and the price on a sign for 'honor system' sales??

I've seen it a couple of places here in Canada and thought what a good idea.

Wonder if it works?? I'd guess yes..... but I've been wrong before    lol

cheers

peter

Offline ThomBee

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Re: selling honey
« Reply #43 on: February 15, 2008, 01:58:39 pm »
I was wondering the same thing. I have bought honey and produce from farms in wisconsin whom used the honor system, But I am afraid that some local kids would clean me out the first day. I would like to trust people but Its hard.
Buying local does not mean your local wal*mart

Offline ooptec

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Re: selling honey
« Reply #44 on: February 15, 2008, 03:16:38 pm »
Maybe try just putting a half doz. jars out and see??

Offline Jerrymac

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Re: selling honey
« Reply #45 on: February 16, 2008, 12:06:42 pm »
I have been selling mine for 6 dollars a pound.

ThomBee I have had the opposite. I bottled a whole lot into little jars and right off the bat everybody wanted the biggest jars I had. I guess I reached the limit with one gallon at $45.00. And she said she wanted the biggest I had. So she bought all the rest of my small stuff.

Here are other sizes I had

4 oz jars @ $1.50
8 oz jars @ $3.00
16 oz jars @ $ 6.00
20 oz jars @ $ 7.50
2 pound jars @ $12.00
2 lb 12 oz jar @ $16.50
4 pound jar @ $24.00
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Offline ThomBee

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Re: selling honey
« Reply #46 on: February 18, 2008, 11:05:28 pm »
 Customers are confusing sometimes. I know that One of My customers runs a daycare. She is working toward an all natural diet for the kids. Honey is part of that and she "reserved" a years worth of honey for her daycare. (All from giving her a small 4 oz. jar.) Next year my Marketing is going to be more aggressive than in the past. Mainly because I hope to have more honey available and We officially became a business This year. Our Product is marketed under the name "Yooper Honey" The picture under my user name is our logo. I also might do a price adjustment this year.
Buying local does not mean your local wal*mart

Offline Cindi

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Re: selling honey
« Reply #47 on: February 19, 2008, 09:11:44 am »
ThomBee.  That is pretty cool and I love the picture of the bee you use for your logo, good job!!!  Have an awesome and wonderful day, love earth.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline ThomBee

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Re: selling honey
« Reply #48 on: February 19, 2008, 05:42:35 pm »
Thanks Cindi,
The logo was designed because of the number one Question I am asked, "What do the bees do during the winter". So the logical answer is Snowshoe, sledding and ice fishing. I have Sub-logos for all of them. I plan on using one for comb and one for extracted  etc. We also had one designed telling of the three reasons to buy local, "Better Quality,  More Healthier and better for the Enviroment".
Buying local does not mean your local wal*mart

Offline Cindi

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Re: selling honey
« Reply #49 on: February 20, 2008, 12:30:30 am »
Beauty.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: selling honey
« Reply #50 on: February 20, 2008, 01:59:11 am »
I have a design I want to use that was drawn by my late father.  My mother's given name was Bee and Dad used to amuse her by drawing different pictures of bees on her lunch sacks when she brown bagged it.  It is a cartoon of a bee carrying a bucket--that will be the basis for any label I might develop.  My house is full of glass skeps for serving honey plus glasses, plates, cups, night lights, windchims, and garden pinwheels with bees on them because of my mother--so the label design would honor them both.
Life is a school.  What have you learned?   :brian:      The greatest danger to our society is apathy, vote in every election!

Offline reinbeau

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Re: selling honey
« Reply #51 on: February 20, 2008, 08:27:44 am »
Brian, how wonderful!  I'm trying to come up with a label design myself, but I'm no artist - what I want is a sketch of maybe the corner of a barn with a nice hive set up just off that corner, something farmy and homey looking.  I keep looking....

Such a nice legacy to draw from, I wish my father had lived long enough to share beekeeping with us - he kept bees for a few years before he died.

Offline Cindi

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Re: selling honey
« Reply #52 on: February 20, 2008, 10:18:45 am »
Brian, oh what a beautiful picture you have painted in my mind's eye.  Your Father must have loved your Mother very much, love.....what more could we ask for...I say this with many things, but indeed, love....

Those jar labels will be pieces of beautiful memories and art work, what a wonderful and beautiful thought.

I am going to make some new labels this year.  Well, actually, I am going to have some made.  There are some pretty stringent rules and regulations with honey labelling that is coming into effect, and being a member of the B.C. Honey Producers Association, I must comply.  There are many companies locally that offer their services to create beautiful and unique honey labels.  I just have to find the appropriate picture/logo that I want on it and then it shall be done.  I still have labels that I created myself and had printed at a local print shop, but I need something new.....beautiful day, oh, brother, just a thought, that darn little pittie of my Daughter's, Titan, is laying beside me on the loveseat and decided he needed a pat, so I patted him.  That was it.  Now he tried to stop me from typing, he kept putting his paw on my left hand and stopping me from typing, I start to laugh and he starts to push my hand even more, I couldn't type, and the more he did this the harder I laughed and the harder he pushed my hand with his paw.  Whew, he did finally stop when I pushed him off the couch.  Oh these pooches make me wanna laugh!!!!  Kooder and Kobie (the other pittie and dalmation/rottwheiller cross) are well behaved. They are laying on the other couch just watching Titan and his antics, knowing that sooner or later he is gonna get in trouble from me.....I can see them smiling that secret smile, just waiting for Titan to get it.  Oh dear, where was I, right, the sign off.  Have a wonderful and best day in our wonderful place on earth.  Cindi

Remember to watch for the lunar eclipse tonight.  Our moon will be hidden from 7:00 PM to 7:52 PM, is that the same time as everywhere else?  Hee, hee,   C.
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline BEH

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Re: selling honey
« Reply #53 on: February 21, 2008, 10:53:25 pm »
What about health dept laws? I make homemade cheese and at one time thought about going more big time but the laws(at least here) are really strict. You cant sell it out of your kitchen, you have to have a building dedicated to just that. There are time limits on how quickly you must process the milk. You cant sell any raw milk or raw milk products yada yada yada.... Are there restrictions like that on honey? I realize the laws are probably different all over I was just wondering generally.

Do you have to bottle the honey with in a certain time frame? keep it a certain temperature? can you bottle it from home??

Do most backyard beek sell their excess or give it away?

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: selling honey
« Reply #54 on: February 21, 2008, 11:47:23 pm »
What about health dept laws? I make homemade cheese and at one time thought about going more big time but the laws(at least here) are really strict. You cant sell it out of your kitchen, you have to have a building dedicated to just that. There are time limits on how quickly you must process the milk. You cant sell any raw milk or raw milk products yada yada yada.... Are there restrictions like that on honey? I realize the laws are probably different all over I was just wondering generally.

Do you have to bottle the honey with in a certain time frame? keep it a certain temperature? can you bottle it from home??

Do most backyard beek sell their excess or give it away?

Check with your local health department for those answers.  If you're selling just a few jars at a Farmers maket there's usually not a problem other than common sense canning/bottling rules to avoid contamination.  If you're going commercial it can be more involved.
Life is a school.  What have you learned?   :brian:      The greatest danger to our society is apathy, vote in every election!

Offline ThomBee

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Re: selling honey
« Reply #55 on: February 23, 2008, 08:44:39 am »
Here in Michigan the laws says that I can sell honey from my farm with no liscense. But if I sell it off location I need a liscense. I plan on building a dedicated honey house. Just a shed with cement floor and running water. I figure that the health laws are their to protect me just as much as to protect the consumer. I know that selling a Raw product such as honey comb, honey or produce is different from selling process foods such as cheese, smoked or dryed jalapenos, creamed honey. So check with the laws. Most of the time they are glad to help you because you are bring a much needed local product to the consumer.
Buying local does not mean your local wal*mart