From some of the recent contributions I get the idea that not all list
members know that Really Raw Honey is a trademarked brand of honey.  Go to
www.reallyrawhoney.com to see some real marketing at work.

My understanding is that some members of an Amish community in the western
part of New York State asked a local beekeeper to provide honey straight
from the extractor, no straining, heating, filtering, etc.  Like many of
today's Europeans they preferred crystallized honey, and were suspicious of
liquid honey as being over-processed.  "Mimi" the founder of Really Raw
Honey discovered this product and suspected she could sell it to a wide
audience.

In the western part of NYS, 'straight from the extractor' honey crystallizes
very quickly as this is an area where the bees barely survive spring and
summer, and then gorge on abundant and 'always' productive goldenrod and
aster.  Goldenrod and aster honey will crystallize in a heartbeat, if not
heated to remove the natural crystals.  Honey extracted in September/October
will be crystallized hard as a rock by the end of November.

As I recall the history, Really Raw Honey started in the early 80's and
drifted along for a few years.  Getting honey was not a problem.  Then an
article in Sports Illustrated quoted someone as attributing their stamina to
Really Raw Honey, and the rest was history!  Suddenly not enough honey was
available and Mimi was widely advertising for goldenrod/aster honey, and
paying top dollar for it.  Of course, beekeepers were happy to provide a
honey with little processing, especially as goldenrod/aster honey is so
strong tasting that it otherwise had to be blended in order to hope to sell
it.

I visited their website just now for the first time in a couple of years and
see that their marketing has considerably expanded to include more than just
the honey.  For example, they now offer Ross Rounds that look like what many
of us consider as seconds as many cells are unfilled and many are filled
with pollen.  An indication of what I think is their lack of
honey/beekeeping knowledge is that they claim the uncapped cells contain
propolis.  I have raised many thousand Ross Rounds sections and have yet to
see propolis stored in cells...but pollen is reasonably common and my guess
is that is what they are dealing with.

In a miniature way, they are doing what Ray Kroc did many years ago.  He
found a ordinary hamburger stand with the ability to turn out good cheap
product, and turned it into pure gold.  Really Raw Honey is taking what many
beekeepers considered 'junk' and is also turning it into gold.

I also sell 'raw honey' because one customer wants about 1,000 lbs a year
and a few others jump on the bandwagon for a few hundred more pounds.  Mine
is not heated (beyond the hot room), but is coarsely strained so that most
of the bee legs and wax are removed.  The customer who buys 1,000 lbs a year
does not even put it on display for sale until it has crystallized!  She is
of recent European decent and 'trains' her customers to buy it, at the
expense of other beekeepers who have honey at her store but can't be
bothered to produce it.

Lloyd
Lloyd Spear, Owner Ross Rounds, Inc.
Manufacturers of Ross Rounds Comb
Honey Equipment, Sundance Pollen Traps
and Custom Printer of Sundance Labels.

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