Over the weekend I was browsing at an antique market and I saw an empty 5
lb. honey can.  I live in Eastern Pennsylvania and we only see honey in
jars.  I worked in a supermarket in high school and never saw honey in cans.
 The can was labeled "Empress" clover honey from the Intermountian States.
 It was packed for Safeway Foods.  I am not sure but I think I may have seen
this on the store shelves in the western US, probably in Phoenix or Salt
Lake City.  Anyway, what impressed me was that the original price was still
on the bottom of the can:  $1.29.  I thought that this can must be very old.
 On second thought, honey may have been selling that cheap as little as 20
years ago.
 
This got me thinking about honey prices.  Ten years ago when I sold my first
jars of honey I was told by one customer that my prices were much lower than
the supermarket.  I thought it was suppose to be that way.  After all, this
was a hobby and I was just off-setting the costs.  How wrong I was, and I
don't have that problem anymore. Just because you enjoy doing the job the
final product doesn't lose value.  Selling any product at a lower price than
it is worth does a disservice to the industry.  I argue this point with a
beekeeper friend.  He sells his honey much lower than I do.  Although he has
more colonies, and produces more honey than me, he complains that he is not
making any money.  He sells a lot of honey; more than he produces.  He buys
additional honey from me and other beekeepers, but in the end he only makes
a few pennies on a pound.  He has one wholesale customer who sells his honey
$1.75 per pound more than he pays my friend for the jar.
 
I sell my honey to health food stores and at a farmers market.  I get the
highest "fair" price I can.  If someone comments (and this seldom happens)
that my  honey is more expensive then at the supermarket, I tell them they
are absolutely right.   But they won't be able to buy MY honey at the
supermarket.  I go on to tell them why my honey is better.  I tell them that
the quality of my honey is as good as or better than any other honey on the
market.  If beekeepers can't make this claim about their honey, then they
should ask themselves WHY NOT.  The price tag sends a message: Quality.  We
as consumers are accustomed to paying a little more for a better product.
 In fact some consumers associate a higher price with quality.  This
argument will only work if you are producing quality product in the first
place.  The market will decide that.  The consumer always has a choice
whether or not to buy.
 
I guess I have said enough, its time to get down off the box.  I probably
stepped on a few toes but remember its just my opinion.  You are probably
wondering what I consider a "fair" price.  I charge $3.25 retail and $2.00
wholesale for a one pound jar.  Price comes down as container size goes up,
but it never goes below $1.20 per pound.  I produce between two and three
thousand pounds per year.  Its what I do and it works for me.
 
If anyone has any information on Empress honey, let me know.  I did pay a
few dollars for the empty can and I am curious.
 
Ron Bogansky
Kutztown, PA