Vickie McDonough continued the discussion by saying: >>> "Through a group effort we can class locally produced honey in it's own category and set and receive a premium price for it!" In marketing, perceived value is everything. If the customers understand how special something is and can feel good about appreciating that fact, they will be willing to pay an appropriate amount. We are very lucky in California's Bay Area for two reasons, 1.) someone said, "all you people do out here is talk about food" -and- 2.) the region has very diverse microclimates which produce endless little pockets of bloom sets, all different tasting. With a growing sophisticated honey awareness gained by continual tastings at the local Farmer's Market, customers now show up saying, "what new honeys do you have today" or "what haven't I tasted recently". When someone claims to have tasted everything or claim that all honeys taste the same, a little spoon of pumpkin blossom honey curls their eyebrows and perks them up mighty quick. Then I provide a sequence of unique honeys that illuminate how different one honey is from another. At about the fifth honey, the customer mentions that tasting honeys is like tasting wines. Their lightbulb is on and they decide whether they want a really special honey or just a pretty special honey. Or a general use honey with a smaller jar of the very special honey. As we all know, it is alot of work to keep little batches of special honey seperated, but it has really paid off by having lots of unique honeys for customers to choose from. Just so you know that I'm not completely blowing smoke, the most special honey, which comes from a prestigious neighborhood in SF, sells for $9 per 8 oz. hex jar. With only 100 pounds, it is easy to cite the rare nature of it and with only a hive or two in many of the yards, I can explain that there is greater time invested per hive's return. Regardless, that one honey is returning $18 per pound, while the majority of the other honeys return $5 per pound. These honeys can't compete on low price. Why do some honeys cost more? They are more special. We are very lucky to have the amazing microclimates and have cultivated the audience who appreciates how special they are. Regards, [log in to unmask]