Customer questions regarding heat treating

[omnimirage]

A number of people ask me whether I heat treat my honey. I always tell them truthfully, partly because I'm honest and partly because I'm proud of my product, and that I'm careful to not reduce it's quality by heating. I tell them that, I heat it to 35c, which is significantly cooler than what a beehive will experience in the summer, in order to be runny enough to pour, and that pasturised honey is heated more to 60c something which is what's associated with the lose of flavour and nutrition. Nonetheless, it seems whenever I say this, the customer becomes disinterested and I don't get a sale.

I'm a bit unsure what to do about it. How common is it for beekeepers to not heat treat honey? Seems largely impractical for me. They'd have to collect honey from the hive that is completely liquid, process, package and sell it quickly. Would they not be able to store honey then? Because honey that's stored will crystallise and need to be heated.

I believe customers ask this because they have learned heat treating reduces quality, but they havne't looked into it indepth enough to really understand. I'm starting to wonder if I should just tell them that I don't heat treat it, but not sure if that'd be misleading.

I get the same sort of questions about sugar feeding. People seem to think sugar feeding spells dooms for beehives and reduces quality of honey. I'm not sure how true that is, but sugar feeding is not something I do now anyway.

[eltalia]

Maybe I should leave this one bee as my experience is in pollination, not honey production, but one
does go with the other if only through necessity.
I'd begin by saying you bring good news as it reads as your public is tuned into fellas as myself and
not so much into what I term "Capilano Hype".
I'd end by saying you are doing yourself a mischief by explaining your process as it is no different to
wdely accepted practice and not at all similar to heat treated product.
The industry at retail uses keywords, follow that lead in building your own.
Start with "natural" to follow up with an image of your apiary.

Bill

[omnimirage]

The general public do seem rather tuned into the quality differences of honey.

So does heat treated product specifically refer to pasteurized honey?

Natural isn't a word that I've been using perhaps to my folly. I've come to find that people really like the words "raw" and "local", "pure" seems popular also.

[eltalia]

The general public do seem rather tuned into the quality differences of honey.

So does heat treated product specifically refer to pasteurized honey?

Natural isn't a word that I've been using perhaps to my folly. I've come to find that people really like the words "raw" and "local", "pure" seems popular also.

Re honey process, I honestly do not know enough about it to comment, truly.
As said I maybe should have let this one bee ;-))
As for marketing, I stick to "keep it simple with striking eye candy".... advice from
an old printer mate from wayback when.

Bill

[Joe D]

I don't know what your local temp is, but here in south Mississippi you can usually get a couple of extractions.  during the first the temp is about 29 C and the second it is about 34 C which is might close to what you are getting yours to.  Some of the honey from this area does crystallize and a little doesn't.  Mine usually will in the winter or early spring after bottling.  On my label    Wildflower
                                                                                                                                                           HONEY
                                                                                                                                                 "RAW  and NATURAL"
If I have some that has crystallized, I put it out in the sun for a little and it back to liquid.
Good luck to you and your bees, Mate

Joe D

There's an Aussie that I still owe a Dixie cup to.  We use to have war games in Sept every year; U S, Australia, and Canada in Hawaii.

[BeeMaster2]

Explain to your customers that keeping the honey below 40 c, 104 f, does not change it.
Jim

[little john]

But you're not HEATing it - you're WARMing it - BIG difference.  If the customer asks about HEAT - then if you reply in the positive using the word 'heat' in any way at all - they will have heard what they wanted to hear.  Change the word.

Answer: "No, I don't heat" (which answers their principle question and thus allays their concerns) "I only warm it slightly - very gently, very carefully - and then only if necessary - just to make it runny enough to pour into jars." (then, repetition)  "But NO, I don't heat it" - or words to that effect.

I'd recommend you don't be tempted to indulge in figures - all the customer really wants to hear is YES or NO, as their question is really more emotional (i.e. is this honey good for me ?) than technical.  However, should the customer start talking figures, then by all means talk figures, but don't start that particular ball rolling.
LJ

[omnimirage]

Particularly helpful little john thanks. Warming no heating, I'll remember that. I think I'm too much of a technical person myself so that's how I express myself, which doesn't work best with most people when selling honey.

[little john]

I'm the same - too technical by half. 

I had to learn this 'emotional' stuff - that many words have 'baggage' attached to them.  'Heat' is at best an impersonal word - whereas 'warm' is comforting.  We talk about being "nice and warm", of "having warm toes" - "I'll warm myself by the fire" and so on...

'Warm' has good baggage attached, 'heat' is suspect, 'hot' is undesirable (on a personal level).  Most selling has emotion at it's core: the attitude of the sales-person, the type of packaging, presentation generally, including colours.  Supermarkets spend fortunes on this kind of research.

Take the words used.  If you're selling washing powder - then 'New' and 'Improved' are key words to use.  But - if you're appealing to the natural food customer, then 'Natural', 'Original', 'Wholesome', 'Old-World' - those are the kinds of words they're looking for.

"Aunt Bessies Original Recipe Flapjacks" - with a picture on the label displaying a log cabin kitchen, with an old lady, spoon in hand.  The customer is actually buying nostalgia - a tried and tested traditional product from their youth, or their grand-parent's youth.  The fact that this stuff is churned out by the ton on a stainless-steel production line, and shipped around the country in huge diesel-engined vehicles is irrelevant (and would be undesirable for the customer to become aware of) - because that is not part of the product they're buying.
LJ

[Acebird]

Technically you are heating the honey if you raise it's temperature but I would answer "no" because technically people don't know what heating is.  I handle it this way by saying if the honey is below the natural hive temperature I warm it to that temperature.  I would also tell them the bees prefer it at that temperature because it is easier for them to work with.  At lower temperatures it would chill their little babies.  No physical harm comes to the honey and you can truthfully label it as "Raw".

It is not what is technically correct that matters.  What matters is what is perceived in the customer's mind.  Don't give them a false perception by saying you heat the honey even if it is from taking it out of the freezer and warming it to room temperature by just letting is sit on the counter.

[BeeMaster2]

I'm with Ace. I would not call it heating. If you took the honey off a hive on a warm day your honey would already be at 35 degrees c.
You're not changing the honey so why say your heating it 
Jim

[omnimirage]

Isn't much of a difference when putting it in an insulated room to be heated by something electric, and leaving it outside on a warm day.

I've come to notice that customers like hearing certain words when it comes to honey. They like "raw" "local" "pure" "natural".