Small Business

[Terri Yaki]

I must be the odd man out because eating anything that has anything to do with bugs is not to be eaten. I'm thinking that just sticking with a description of the flavor and maybe what that particular variety works well with. Kind of like they do with olive oil and maple syrup. Light amber, medium, and dark amber with a rich flavor. i e deep, robust flavor goes great in baking, light, delicate flavor is great on toast, and medium works well in tea and coffee. I suppose you could try different labels where you call it deep, broody flavor, it's just not what I'd be looking for.

[The15thMember]

I think I'm not making myself clear, I'm not looking for words for product description.  My sister can do that easily with her creative mind.  What we need is a name for this product.  For example, chunk honey is runny honey with a chunk of cut comb in it.  Crunchy honey is crystallized honey.  I need a marketable name for honey that is burnt tasting and slightly darker than the honey would otherwise be because brood was previous reared in its comb.  Just for the record, it definitely doesn't taste broody.                                                 

[animal]

I'd slap "organic - full natural flavor" on it and jack up the price by 25% or more.

Of the ones that buy it .. If they like it, they'll tell all their friends (free advertising) .. If they don't like it they'll be embarrassed to admit it and still tell their friends about it (trying to act "superior").

Sort of the reverse of the Star-kist tuna ads ... Sell it to the ones that claim to have good taste rather than to the ones that want something that tastes good 


 

[The15thMember]

I'd slap "organic - full natural flavor" on it and jack up the price by 25% or more.

This is not legal.  You can't just claim something is organic without it meeting state and federal standards.  And with honey, that is unfortunately is almost impossible, as you would have to prove that not only your own land, but all the land where your bees are foraging met the standards.     

[animal]

Oops, I was way behind the times on the term "organic" .. but .. there are still no USDA standards for what constitutes organic honey other than regulations on the bees as livestock. ...and a strange system set up with third-party certification.

But, you're right about not being able to label it as such. Not thanks to any law passed by Congress or based on the chemical make-up of the honey, but due to regulations around the "certified organic seal" and the word organic appearing on the label. .. so yeah, not legal ...bummer

However, "natural" is so loosely defined as to be meaningless with respect to honey, "wild" has no formal definition at all, and there are several other undefined buzz words so...

"Wild Honey" ... All natural unprocessed ... direct from the hive, made by free range bees (lol)... or such like
"Dark Comb Honey" ... rich unaltered natural flavor (implying the flavor of "normal" honey has been altered).. blah blah

I think the main thing is to label it as a thing for connoisseurs, and jack up the price to reinforce the idea

[Terri Yaki]

Dark Comb Honey has a nice ring to it.

[The15thMember]

However, "natural" is so loosely defined as to be meaningless with respect to honey, "wild" has no formal definition at all, and there are several other undefined buzz words so...

"Wild Honey" ... All natural unprocessed ... direct from the hive, made by free range bees (lol)... or such like
"Dark Comb Honey" ... rich unaltered natural flavor (implying the flavor of "normal" honey has been altered).. blah blah

"Natural" is a little sticky in my state because we have a "certified naturally grown" program.  It wouldn't be a legal issue, but I'm not sure I like how that word already has a particular meaning to consumers in my area.  It's a word we will certainly use in a product description, but we didn't make it a major feature of the label.  "Wildflower" already has particular connotation in honey labels, it means honey that isn't monofloral, it's a general mix of whatever was blooming.  "Wild honey" to me implies honey from feral bees, as opposed to managed colonies.  "Dark Comb Honey" is literally what this product is, so that's a good thought, but I don't like how the consumer could easily think it's cut comb honey, as opposed to runny honey in jar.  Plus, as I said before, "Summer Dark" is already a honey variety that we are selling.   

I think the main thing is to label it as a thing for connoisseurs, and jack up the price to reinforce the idea

     
This is actually the exact opposite of our branding strategy.  We want to cultivate in our customers the idea that food and products that are homegrown or homemade are naturally of higher quality not because they are luxurious and produced only for those who can afford them, but because they are purer, cleaner, more natural, and simply better.  We are not "jacking" up the price because of any artificial trappings, but the products are inherently more expensive than what you get at Wal-Mart because they are high quality and real.