Hello,
 
After sending my post yesterday I traded a few emails with a friend.  He mentioned seeing Dutch Gold Organic Honey in a local supermarket.  The country of origin is Brazil.  Bob called that one.  It is kind of sad that the consumer is so gullible that, in spite of what someone may tell them, they will respond to a few buzz words.  
 
Pay attention folks, I am about to share one of my all time best marketing secrets. Follow this and you will be well on your way to riches beyond imagination.  In order to increase sales you must:
 
1)       Leave any morals you may have back at the church or at home, but never bring them to work.
2)       Remove all mirrors in you house.  Guys learn to shave in the shower; you are not that good looking anyway, heck most beekeepers I know are kind of grizzled looking. (Except Bob Harrison, who I still say hires a stand in for his ABJ photo.)
3)       Make sure whatever is in the container, will pass for whatever is on the label. 
4)       Have a great label.
 
Ok please disregard the first 3 steps.  But the fourth is important.  My sister is married to a packaging engineer.  He held the original patient for a very famous and widely used container.  He will always tell you, when it comes to generating sales, what is on the outside will beat what is on the inside every time.  My sister and nephew run a small business.  They buy lip cream in bulk and repackage it in tubes.  They do custom labeling.  There is nothing special about the product itself.  It is what the label states; lip gloss.  If I could sell as many jars of honey as she does tubes of lip gloss, I would be the biggest honey packer in the country.  The label is what sells it.
 
Dutch Gold has a really nice label.  They are colorful and usually show a picture of the flower that is the nectar source.  And for at least here in PA it can be viewed by some as a “local honey”.  It would be very difficult for any beekeeper I know to be able to have such a variety of high quality labels and still make money.  
 
Whether we are willing to admit it or not, most consumers that buy honey, especially at the supermarket, will be swayed more by the package than what is inside. And if the package has a few buzz words like “organic” or “raw”, or a picture of the honey goddess, so much the better.  
 
It is also sad but true, that there are many businesses that follow steps 1 and 3 above.  Not sure about 2, as they probably don’t care who they are looking at in the mirror.
 
One last note.  I am not trashing Dutch Gold.  They run a nice operation especially with respect to cleanliness and customer service.  I have seen a few backyard honey operations that could learn a lot about keeping things neat and clean from Dutch Gold.  They serve a niche in the food chain and are successful at what they do.  If the customer is happy with their purchase then DG is doing what they set out to do, filling a consumer’s need.
 
Ron
 
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