Jars and Labels and Packaging.....Oh My

For as long as I can remember, my Dad's honey label was the same, yellowish with brown text with his name and a space for the weight. At some point, he added a small label to the back of his jars explaining about granulation and how to fix it. He also used the same classic jars in various sizes and the plastic honey bear container.  

 

 Nothing fancy because my Dad was a classic New England Yankee. His label clearly says "Here's honey which I put in a jar. It is pure and it weighs 1 pound. What you see is what you get." I can still picture the full jars on the kitchen table, lined up for labeling back in the days before self-sticking labels. Everyone in town probably had one of these jars in their kitchen and they would return the empty jars to him for refill.
 

He added the back labels when he got tired of listening to people tell him that their honey "went bad" and turned to sugar. Honey does not go bad. In fact there is documentation of honey found in ancient tombs and it was still edible. Read this article from Smithsonian Magazine- The Science behind Honey's Ancient Shelf Life for a real explanation.

All the bee supply vendors sell labels. Some can be customized with your own apairy name, type f honey (wildflower, raw, pure ). Most are generic and have blank space for the weigh and type of honey. Labels can also be custome designed and created. It all depends upon what you, the beekeeper, want to say. Take a look at Google images for an idea of just how many honey labels there are- Honey Labels.

This past fall, my club, Northeast New Jersey Beekeepers Association, held a honey label contest. Club members submitted their labels and other club members voted on which they considered to be the best, most interesting, etc. the label designs were interesting, as were the choices for winners. Winning entries were- J First place, I Second place and A Third place.



Northeast NJ Beekeepers Association Sept. 2014 Label Contest
 

I've been pondering my packaging and my labels. What do I want my brand to look like? First, I'm not really looking to have a brand nor do I expect to have a honey crop large enough for world-wide recognition. I love the traditional, glass jars used by my Dad so that decision has been made. I also like the idea of clear labels so you can see through the jar and through the honey.

A talented artist that I have know for her entire life has created various labels for me to use. I'm not going to share them with you now because I am not yet sure which I like the best. I also don't want anyone to borrow my label and use it for themselves! I can tell you that she does some really interesting art which you can see at her Etsy Store-DeepCereal. Her work has a sense of whimsy that I really like and it isn't too serious.

So, while my bees rest up in their hive, I'm busy getting ready for spring and my 2nd hive and thinking about jars and labels and packaging as well as extracting and swarming and bee stings.

Happy January!