> -----Original Message-----
> From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Bob
> Harrison
> Subject: Re: [BEE-L] "pimping bees"
> 
>  Hello Mike & All,
> BEE-I is basically a hobby/sideline list and your thoughts do apply to
those
> direct marketing their product. However when on the scale of the four
> beekeepers from my December ABJ article honey is simply a commodity sold
> bulk in drums or totes raw on the open market to the highest bidder. 


That is a choice that the large scale operators are making; you can choose
what business you want to be in.  If the line of business is a poor one, is
it not better to move into a more lucrative market, possibly just for part
of your business, than to stay where you are complaining about poor returns?

 
> Not many large beekeepers pack their own honey.

Again that is a choice that is being made.  I wonder where the value is
being added?  I know that for my small scale operation I can double my net
selling price by packing.  What is more, the packing is a much easier
operation than standing out in fields in most weathers working the bees,
removing the honey, transporting it and then extracting it.  In my book that
is the donkey part of the operation.

> 
> > What is the Unique Selling Point of the product?
> 
> Please do not confuse selling small amounts of honey with the discussion
of
> comodity honey.

What I was trying to do was to suggest that supplying a commodity may not be
the best place to be.  If you can open up whole new directions, as the Kiwis
have done, then for a while you have a new market to yourself until the
competition catches up.  That can be very lucrative place to be, providing
that you remember that the competition always catches up.

> 
> Orange, Sourwood, Buckwheat or Tupelo honey can bring higher prices in the
> specialty honey packer market . But when supplies are high you can get
> docked because of the need for blending out those flavors in the regular
> market.
> Orange honey in Florida is at times docked if dark and strong in flavor
and
> the whole state has a bumper crop. Way more than is needed for the
specialty
> market.
> 
> Richard Adee's plan to hold as much of his crop as long as he can waiting
> for the price to increase is common and has been pacticed for as long as
> commercial beekeeping has been around but there comes a time when you are
> forced for various reasons to clear the warehouse. Honey is fairly easy to
> store for a few years if moisture is correct. The CCC honey loan program
was
> started to give commercial beekeepers cash flow while being able to wait
up
> to nine months looking for a buyer. Before the loan program the packers
> stood at the beekeepers door with cheap offers knowing the beekeeper would
> have to sell a certain amount of drums to create fall cash flow.

I suggest that this is a very clear explanation of why supplying a commodity
can be a hard place to be.

> 
>  If you don't have one then
> > why not buy your competitor's product if it's comparable and cheaper?
> 
> I can not tell you the number of marketing presentations I have sat
through
> over the last four decades. One thing has always been the same:
> 
> THE LOWEST PRICE HONEY ON THE SHELF SELLS THE MOST JARS.
> 

If that is complete description of the honey marketplace, how come I am
selling my honey to retailers for more than twice the retail price of the
cheapest honey in my town?  Part of the answer to that question is that the
cheap competition is getting a bad press because of contamination issues,
combined with a wish by at least some consumers to buy a product with a
reduced carbon footprint.  I cannot compete with the lowest priced honey,
but I can operate so that I don't have to.

> I found a different scenario in
> health food stores so I concentrated on selling honey in health food
stores
> where my "local' label would help sell my product. I still do retail sales
> in stores but not on the scale i did at one time.

This is just my point.  You improved your bottom line by supplying products
that commanded a better place in the market.

> 
> 
> > Perhaps we all have a
> > Unique "X" factor, but X= manuka gives a honey that commands UK prices
> > well
> > over $US20 per pound retail.
> 
> I can tell you that any honey priced at $20 a pound in most grocery stores
> will not hold shelf space. Maybe in a health food store but sales will be
> limited.
> 

OK, but 30% of the sales at 4 times the price is still a winner.



Mike Rowbottom

HARROGATE
North Yorkshire
UK

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