This honey frame has been pulled from the hive and is ready for extraction. Photo Credit.
By now some of you have been fortunate enough to harvest your very own honey and if you were lucky enough, you might have even ended up with extra honey to sell. Selling your own honey gives a beekeeper a terrific sense of pride. Depending on where the bees forage, every jar of honey from different hives is unique in taste and color.
There are a few ways to harvest the honey. You can choose to extract, strain and bottle it. Or you can choose to cut out pieces of the comb filled with honey. Either way, there is a demand for both! In order to sell your own honey, there are a few legal requirements that have been introduced by the regulatory boards in the United States. They’re good to know- especially to help those repeat customers find you again and again!
All honey that is going to be sold will require a clear and legible label. The first thing that must go on the label on the front of your packaging is the word “Honey”. If your bees forage where they will, you simply label the honey as “Wildflower Honey”. If your bees pollinate a particular crop, such as clover, cranberries or the like, then you can label it as so.
There are many types of jars created for marketing and selling your honey. Photo Credit.
Next, you should also include the weight of the honey excluding the packaging. This must be displayed in the lower third portion of your label and clearly display both grams and ounces. One ounce equals 28.35 grams and one pound (16 ounces) equals 453.59 grams.
Lastly, you should include your name, address and phone number on the front panel as well. Although it is not required, I usually add a label on the back reminding folks that children under the age of 12 months should not ingest honey due to the risk of Infant Botulism. I also like to include the year and season as well. To me, honey tastes vary like fine wines!
Raw honeycomb for sale at a local marketplace. Photo Credit.
Finally, depending on the amount of honey you harvested, offer it up to friend and family first. Then if you have enough, reach out to local businesses that already sell food or gift items. I bet they would love to offer up your honey for sale.
Be sure to reach out to your state’s Department of Agriculture for state-specific labeling requirements and laws regarding selling your honey. More resources for selling your honey from the USDA and the National Honey Board can be found here:
http://www.honey.com/honey-industry/honey-testing-and-regulations/honey-labeling
https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/extracted-honey-grades-and-standards
4 Comments
Hello
I’m Ali from Iran
I produce honey in Iran
Good quality and reasonable price
Can you help me sell?
Here’s an opportunity for investment
We are prepared
Hi. We are from Azerbaijan.
We have boxes of bees. We’re producing honey. We want to cooperate with you. Honey high quality. Can you help us for sale honey?
Ramiz Kalbiyev
I need a help to sell my honey.l am Eben from Ghana.Thank U.
Good afternoon,
I had 100% honey from Bulgaria,
need help to sell it.
have certificate and labels.
thanks
Stoyan