HONEY
OK, this may seem obvious, but there are a lot of things to consider when selling honey.

Local Laws:  First of all check with your local food production regulations to make sure you are doing it right.  Some states & municipalities require professional kitchens (think wall-to-wall stainless steel and multiple sinks) and health department inspections for bottling any food items for sale.  Many others do not.  Either way, you will want your work area as clean and sanitary as possible.

Branding & Packaging:  If you will be selling to strangers, such as at a farmer's market, it's important that your product look as good and professional as possible.  Use new bottles and have nice labels printed.  Come up with a great name for your honey business and have a logo developed.  The right presentation will not only help your honey sell for top dollar, it will actually taste better to customers. 

It's also important that your label is accurate so again check local regulations.  Did you know that a pint of honey weighs about 24 ounces, not 16?  Is your honey 'organic?'  Probably not because it only can be truly organic if you are positive that no chemicals have been used within a 16 square mile area around your apiary.  What type of honey is it, or in other words, what were your bees foraging when they made the honey?  Usually it's not just blue berries or apples, but a wide range of flowering plants.  In that case "Wildflower Honey" is usually the proper terminology.

Selling:  Develop your story.  Why did you get into beekeeping?  What did
your bees feast on this summer?  Why is this the world's best honey?! 
How much love have you and your beautiful bees put into each and
every spoonful of this raw, local honey?  Unless you are a large producer
with big wholesale accounts you will be doing a lot of person-to-person
selling.  Your unique story will close the sale.

Farmer's Markets:  They are a great place to sell your honey because customers are looking for locally sourced healthy food.  But don't make the mistake of selling your honey the cheapest or trying to sell a dozen jars to one customer.  Much more important than just selling a few jars of honey, farmer's markets are a great place to gain long term
customers.  Everyone who buys from you should receive your contact information
so that they can buy direct, all year long, in the future.  And you should get their
email address so that you can reach out to them in the future.  Wouldn't it be amazing
if after your first year selling at the local farmer's market you never needed to be
there again.

Pricing:  The biggest mistake most beekeepers make is pricing their honey too low. 
You are NOT competing with honey in a plastic bear from the grocery store.  Most of
that is not even honey, it's a little honey cut with water, high fructose corn syrup, and
who knows what else!  Your honey is local, raw, unfiltered, and took thousands and
thousands of bees to make.  You spent hundreds on beekeeping equipment and dozens or hundreds of hours working with the bees.  Don't insult your bees and yourself by selling your honey too cheap.  

So what should it cost?  That all depends on your area, the amount of competition, and how well you tell your story.  Our recommendation is a target of $1 per ounce.  You may not get that much or you may get more, but remember that selling too cheap is simply unsustainable and hurts yourself and everyone else trying to make a few bucks while taking care of the bees and the planet.