The honey market - France (2024)

1.2 Global market

Global honey production has fluctuated over the period from **** to ****. In ****, production was ****.* thousand tonnes, gradually increasing to peak at ****.* thousand tonnes in ****. However, it then declined to a low of ****.* thousand tonnes in ****. A recovery can be observed from **** onwards, and production in **** may even have exceeded its **** level to reach **** thousand tonnes.

World honey production volume World, **** - ****, in thousands of tons Source: ****

In terms of honey production, China dominates the market with ***.* thousand tonnes, followed by Turkey (***) and Iran in third place.

Main honey producers World, ****, in thousands of tons Source: ****

1.3 The French market

France consumes around **,*** tonnes of honey a year, equivalent to *** grams per capita per year, making it one of Europe's biggest consumers. **% of the French population eat honey, and consumption is rising slightly in France. [***]

In ****, French honey production fell sharply to **,*** tonnes, down **% on ****. This drop in production is notably due to unfavorable climatic conditions (***). Despite an exceptional year in ****, with **,*** tonnes produced, **** saw production fall drastically. In ****, however, production almost returned to its **** level, exceeding **,*** tonnes, and production in **** is estimated at **.* thousand tonnes, a new record for the sector.

Honey production in France France, ****-****, in thousands of tons Source: ****

1.4 Foreign trade in honey

Item NC* ******** - Natural honey has been used to determine honey imports and exports in France. France's honey trade balance is very negative en ****, the value of imports was ***.* million euros, while exports were worth **.* million euros, giving a trade deficit of **.* million euros. This deficit is slightly down on ****.

Foreign trade in honey France, ****-****, in thousands of euros Source: ****

The main suppliers of honey include Spain, with over **.* million euros, followed by Ukraine (***).

Main honey suppliers France, ****, in millions of euros Source: ****

France's main customers in this sector are Sweden (***).

France's main honey customers France, ****, in millions of euros Source: ****

2.1 The French and breakfast

The breakfast market in France experienced significant growth between **** and ****. Sales rose from *.** billion euros in **** to *.* billion euros in ****, an increase of **.*%. This growth testifies to the sector's considerable dynamism.

Breakfast market sales France, **** - ****, in billions of euros Source: ****

According to the graph below, **% of French people eat breakfast alone, illustrating the individual nature of this part of the day for a majority of the population. This phenomenon can be explained by an increasingly fast-paced lifestyle and staggered schedules, making this meal more solitary.

However, **% of French people share this moment with their family, underlining the importance of breakfast as a convivial moment. On the other hand, few French people share breakfast with friends or flatmates (***).

French breakfast companions France, ****, in Source: ****

The vast majority of French people (***) take it in the car, probably due to lack of time, while *% take it at work. Finally, only *% opt for a café, restaurant or bakery, showing that this meal remains mainly a moment at home.

Places where the French eat breakfast France, ****, in Source: ****

The impact of covid-** on the honey market :

honey has benefited favorably from the coronavirus crisis, largely because consumers have increased their consumption of honey at breakfast, ...

2.2 The French, major consumers of honey

Honey is a key product for the French. In fact, in **** :

They consume *.* kg / year per household They spend an average of €**.** / year per household on honey

Source: ****

Apart from this data, there is little recent information on honey demand and consumption in France. Indeed, the latest relevant information on this market dates back to **** and is therefore the one mainly used in sub-sections *.*; *.* and *.* of the "Demand" section of this study.

It can be seen that **% of French people under the age of ** consume honey, and that this trend increases further with age, rising to **% for the **-** age group and **% for those aged ** and over.

Honey consumption by age group France, ****, in Source: ****

Most French people of all ages consume * to * jars a year, or so-called occasional consumption. The **-** age group is the most frequent consumer of honey, with **% declaring consumption of more than eight pots a year.

Frequency of honey consumption, by age group France, ****, in Source: ****

Honey received as gifts:

The volumes of honey given as gifts are far from negligible: one in five honey buyers say they have received honey as a gift in the past year, for an average volume of *.** kg. When it ...

2.3 The context of honey consumption

In France, in ****, **% of French people consumed honey as a throat remedy (***).

How do you consume your honey? France, ****, in % Source: ****

Honey is a product that is consumed throughout the day, since while **% of French people consume it at breakfast, another **% and **% consume it at snack time and bedtime respectively. These results are consistent with the first graph, which showed that a majority of French people consume honey in throat remedies, which are generally used in the evening at bedtime. In addition, **% of French people say they eat honey on toast, a dish associated with breakfast and snacks.

at what time of day do you consume honey? France, ****, in Source: ****

2.4 Choosing honey

Selection criteria

The first criterion for choosing honey for consumers is floral origin and taste. Indeed, the taste of honey changes radically depending on whether it's a ****-flower honey, acacia honey, lavender honey, fir tree honey... **% of French consumers are primarily interested in this criterion, with price being the primary choice criterion for only **% of consumers.

Consumers' top criteria for choosing honey France, ****, in Source: ****

For consumers' second choice criterion, the gap between the elements taken into account is narrowing: honey consistency tops the list, with **% of choices, while price and floral origin/taste each account for **% of second criteria.

Consumers' second choice criterion for honey France, ****, in Source: ****

Consumers' third choice criterion is price (***).

Consumers' third choice criterion for honey France, ****, in Source: ****

Finally, the criteria taken into account by consumers are floral origin/taste, then consistency, and finally price. Interestingly, price is only the *ᵉ criterion of choice when buying honey, as this indicates a lower price elasticity of the product.

Type:

The leading type of honey consumed by the French is mixed-flower honey at **%, followed by single-flower honey at **%. Flavored honeys account for a minimal share of honey consumption (***).

Type of honey consumed by the French France, ****, in Source: ...

2.5 A tendency to prefer French and organic honeys

More and more, the French are adopting a responsible approach to consumption, which means they are paying close attention to the provenance and production ethics of the products they consume. Honey is no exception to the rule, as shown by the survey below, according to which **% of French people say they would be influenced to choose a honey if it indicated a regional or French origin. This criterion is by far the one with the greatest impact, since the other information on the label that has an influence is the name of the producer (***).

It should be noted that "made in Europe" represents only **% of influential criteria. Yet "made in Europe" is often used as a guarantee of product quality. This seems to indicate that honey has a very local connotation, as a product to be consumed in a short circuit and without a deadline, since only **% of consumers take this into account.

Label information influencing the decision to buy honey France, ****, in Source: ****

Beyond local consumption, consumers are increasingly turning to organic designations and quality guarantees for the products consumed. For example, honey buyers are familiar with the main SIQO (***) label, with **% saying "yes".

When it comes to French origin, ...

2.6 France's favourite honey brands

the graph below was obtained from OpinionWay's survey of French people's favorite brands in February ****. These are respondents' answers to the question "Do you like this or that brand of honey?"; for each brand, the percentage corresponds to the proportion of respondents who answered "yes". Lune de Miel is the favorite honey brand of the French, with **.*% of respondents saying they liked it. On the other hand, Famille Michaud is the least appreciated honey brand, with only **.*% of respondents saying they liked it.

France's favorite honey brands France, February ****, in Source: ****

The graph below shows that women show a stronger preference for honey. Of all the brands, only La Ruche aux Délices is more appreciated by men, with **.*% of favorable opinions, compared with **.*% among women.

French people's favorite honey brands, by gender France, February ****, in Source: ****

The graph below compares the level of appreciation of honey brands according to respondents' age category. The results do not seem to allow us to develop any hypothesis concerning the appreciation of honey according to age. Indeed, it is difficult to establish a common trend for all three brands of honey. However, we note that the ** - ** age group is the one with the ...

3.1 Industry structure

The honey market value chain is made up of different players working to deliver quality honey to consumers.

Beekeepers: They are at the base of the value chain, ensuring the production of honey. Their role is to manage the hives, harvest the honey and sometimes lightly process it before selling it to packers or directly to consumers through channels such as direct sales. Packers: They buy honey from beekeepers, process it and package it in formats suitable for distribution. Their mission is to prepare the product for marketing, ensuring quality, traceability and compliance with health standards. They also play a key role in the logistics and distribution of honey to various points of sale. Specialty stores:they collaborate with packers to offer high-quality honey, often from short circuits or specific productions (***). They target customers looking for authentic products or those with special characteristics. Their role is to showcase beekeepers' expertise and guarantee a quality-focused shopping experience. Supermarkets:they also source from packers, but their aim is to supply honey on a larger scale and at competitive prices. Supermarkets play a role in democratizing access to honey, offering standard products to a wider public, often with a national or private label ...

3.2 Breakdown of honey production activity

Total number of beekeepers down for the first time in ****

After * years of growth, the year **** marks a decline in the number of beekeepers, with a decrease of almost *.*% in one year. This decline is linked to the loss of beekeepers with fewer than ** hives, and of those who had developed a hobby beekeeping activity during the confinement. This decline will continue, reaching a final number of **,*** beekeepers in ****. The majority (***) of these beekeepers have fewer than ** hives.

Number of beekeepers France, ****-**** Source: ****

Number of beekeepers, by number of hives France, ****-****

Honey production, by farm size France, ****-****, tons Source: ****

Geographical disparities There is a high concentration of production activity in the south of France, particularly in Occitanie and Nouvelle Aquitaine.

Source: ****

In ****, apart from spring flowers, the honeys most produced were acacia (***).

Distribution of honey production by type of honeydew France, ****, in Source: ****

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3.3 Honey distribution channels

The graph shows the breakdown of honey volumes marketed in France in **** according to different distribution channels. Wholesale sales dominate, accounting for **% of total volume. It is closely followed by direct sales, which account for **.*%, while semi-wholesale sales come third with **.*%. These figures show a slight predominance of wholesale over other distribution channels.

Distribution of honey volumes by sales channel France, ****, in Source: ****

The chart highlights the different distribution channels for honey in France. Direct sales take first place with **.*% of the volume distributed, confirming the importance of this channel for producers. Non-organic specialist stores come second with **. *%, followed by packers and wholesalers with **.*%.

Distribution of honey production volumes by marketing channel France, ****, in Source: ****

Growth of short distribution channels and direct sales

When we ask people who have bought honey directly from a beekeeper about the reasons for their purchase, the assurance of the honey's "French" origin is indisputably the first reason given. More precisely, for **% of them, it is the first (***) come a distant second.[***].

With emerging fears about the quality of honeys, consumers are increasingly defiant of mass-market products and tend to want to identify the producer: they therefore favor short circuits. At the same time, the advent ...

4.1 Products and prices

The different types of honey

Production is divided between different types of honey, as shown in the graph below:

[***] Estimated quantity of honey produced per honeyflow France, ****, in tons Source: ****

The three most important types of honeydew are Acacia, Rapeseed and Spring Flowers. Production is also relatively evenly distributed.

Below is a list of the main types of honey sold in France, with the price per jar and per kilo. The classiest jar size is *** grams (***). [***]

Source: ****

In supermarkets, the average price of honey in **** was €**.*/kg. For organic honey, the price is higher, reaching €**.*/kg. [***]

4.2 Consumer price index

The consumer price index for honey is included in the CPI for sugar, jams, chocolate, confectionery and honey. This index was relatively stable, rising from a base of *** in **** to ***.* in March ****. However, since April ****, there has been a clear increase in this price index. This increase reflects the widespread inflation affecting consumer goods: the combined effect of the pandemic and the Ukraine war.

Consumer price index (***) for sugar, jams, chocolate, confectionery and honey France, ****-****, index base *** in **** Source: ****

4.3 Organic honey production

Like many markets, the honey sector is no exception to the growing importance of organic produce. In ****, **.*% of honey produced in France will be organic: a gain of *.* points between **** and ****. This share fell to **.*% in ****, but is still higher than in ****.

Source: ****

This dynamic should naturally continue in the years to come, as demand for organic farming becomes ever more demanding.

Breakdown of honey production volumes by type of farming France, ****, in Source: ****

By ****, almost a third of honey farms were certified organic.

4.4 By-products: honey and cosmetics

Honey for processing

An estimated *,*** tons of honey is destined for the food industry, and *,*** tons for industrial use (***).

Honey and the cosmetics industry

Honey, royal jelly and propolis from the hive are used in a wide range of cosmetics and skincare products. This is known as apitherapy.

Honey is used for its emollient, moisturizing and healing properties. It is used in various creams, lotions and even perfumes. Royal jelly is rich in trace elements and amino acids, giving it toning and antioxidant properties. It is used as an anti-aging agent, notably in formulations for dry, tired and/or mature skin Propolis is used as an anti-seborrheic, moisturizing and softening agent.

Leading the way in this protection is Melvita, a pioneer in organic cosmetics, whose name is a contraction of the Latin words mel (***) and was created by Bernard Chevilliat, a beekeeper and biologist. Since ****, the brand has been developing sponsorship programs to protect bees, raise public awareness and promote beekeeping. It has enabled the installation of *** hives, i.e. a roof for **.* million bees.

Le Petit Marseillais is also installing hives this year on sites in Provence belonging to the Conservatoire du Littoral. The brand is a partner of the ...

5.1 Beekeeping regulations

Legal obligations associated with the business

Registering with the government

All beekeepers must declare their hives to the French government, whether as a hobby or a profession. To be listed as a beekeeper, he or she must apply for a NAPI code on the Ministry of Agriculture website, by filling in the CERFA ***** form, and declare the location and number of hives, so that the health of the bees can be monitored.

The beekeeper's NAPI code must be clearly displayed on or next to the hives for easy identification.

The declaration must be renewed every year, at any time chosen by the beekeeper.

Working as a professional

As soon as the beekeeper's activity goes beyond the private sphere (***) of the Chamber of Agriculture.

Keep a livestock register

If you sell beehive products, you must keep a register of all transactions over the past * years.

Tax and accounting aspects for beekeepers

VAT liability

Beekeeping is subject to VAT, but this is not applied below a certain income threshold set at €**,*** over two consecutive years. Below this threshold, the beekeeper is not subject to VAT. Above this threshold, on the other hand, the beekeeper is subject to the simplified real agricultural regime (***).

Revenues ...

5.2 Honey regulations

The compositional characteristics of honey are defined in Annex II of the decree and include aspects such as sugar content (***) content.

Labelling and presentation rules follow those applicable to foodstuffs and pre-packaged foodstuffs in accordance with the regulation on consumer information on foodstuffs. Compulsory information includes the sales name, such as "flower honey" or "honeydew honey", and may be supplemented by indications of floral or plant origin, regional, territorial or topographical origin, or specific quality criteria. However, these additions must not mislead the buyer as to the essential qualities of the product. For polyfloral honeys, a double floral or plant indication is possible, but only if the flowers and plants mentioned have the same production period and geographical origin. Otherwise, the term "blend" must be clearly indicated on the label. [***]

6.1 Market players

Honey brands

Private labels

Internet sales platform

• Famille Michaud Apiculteurs
• Les Compagnons du Miel
• Apidis
• Le Manoir des Abeilles
• La Ruche Roannaise Besacier S.A
• La Maison du Miel
• Bleu Blanc Ruche
• Lune de Miel (Famille Michaud groupe)
• Miel l'Apiculteur (Famille Michaud Groupe)
• Famille Mary (Léa Nature Groupe)
• Miels Hédène
• Auchan groupe
• Reflets de France (Groupe Carrefour)
• Miel in France
• Rochefontaine
• Apiterra