Honey Food Market Size, Share & Industry Analysis, By Type (Table Honey, Cooking Ingredient Honey), By Nature (Organic, Conventional), By Distribution Channel (Supermarkets/Hypermarkets, Convenience Stores, Specialty Stores, Online Retail) And Regional Forecast, 2024-2032

Honey food is a sweet, viscous food substance that is made by the honey bees using the nectar from the flowers. Honey food is rich in nutrients such as vitamins, natural sugars, calcium, and minerals. It has extensively replaced table sugar in their daily diet due to its several health benefits, along with being, naturally fat-free, cholesterol-free, and helps in boosting immunity. Further, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the consumption of honey food as a potential natural remedy to relieve cough and inflammation. This has led to an increase in demand and consumption of honey food in the global marketplace.

The consumer’s shifting preferences toward organic and clean-label products due to their health benefits has led to an increase in demand for organic honey, thus fuelling its market growth. Moreover, the technological advancements and innovations to increase honey production has also contributed in market growth. For instance, in 2015, BeeInventive Pty Ltd. introduced Flow Hive that eases the honey harvesting process without opening the hive to extract.

The shifting consumer preferences towards honey as a natural, healthy, and nutritious alternative to artificial additives is a major factor driving its market. The honey food has widely gained traction as it possesses antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-microbial properties, along with having an indefinite shelf life. Further, the growing inclination towards minimally processed food additivities and wide inclusion of honey in daily diet are also the factors boosting the market growth.

According to a research paper published by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in 2018, honey food despite its health benefits contains 35% glucose and 40% fructose, which can be detrimental for health. According to National Institutes of Health (NIH) high sugar diets lead to various health ailments such as obesity and diabetes, which acts as a restraint in the market growth. Moreover, the availability of other natural sweeteners such as palm sugar and coconut sugar syrup is also likely to hamper the market.

Key Players Covered:

The key companies operating in the global honey food market are, McCormick & Company, Inc., Dabur India Ltd., Capilano Group, Barkman Honey, LLC., Bee Maid Honey Limited, Comvita Limited, Beeyond the Hive, Lamex Food Group Limited, New Zealand Honey Co., and Dutch Gold Honey.

The table honey segment is likely to account for the major share in the market due to the growing incorporation of honey instead of regular table sugar by the consumers as a healthier natural sweetener. Table honey is widely used as spreads on breads and other products as an alternative to jams by the health-conscious consumers. Further, the replacement of sugar syrup with honey in various beverages such as tea, juices, and smoothies is also a factor fuelling market growth.

Supermarkets and hypermarkets are anticipated to be the leading distribution channel due to the growing preference and reliability of consumers on these mass merchandisers to purchase grocery products. The availability of numerous options and varieties in honey coupled with other household product availability under the same roof has boosted the market growth. In addition, the increasing number of supermarkets in developing economies have also contributed in the sales performance of honey food.

Regional Analysis:

North America is anticipated to hold the major share in the market as the honey food is widely consumed due its readily accessible sugars, proteins, amino acids, and minerals. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), in 2017, nearly 2.67 million honey-producing colonies generated 1.47 million pounds of raw honey in the U.S. According to National Honey Board in 2017, the annual per capita consumption of honey in the U.S. is approximately 1.51 pounds per year. Further, the consumption of honey continues to rise with an average of nearly one-pound honey consumed per person in 2017, then the previous consumption of 0.5 pounds in 1990.

Asia Pacific is expected to foresee significant growth due to the strong presence of apiculture in countries like India and China, along with the growing health consciousness among the consumers. China and India are among the global producers and consumers of honey. The consumption of honey to relieve cough, inflammation, and to boost immunity is since time immemorial in India. Thus, these factors are expected to cumulatively aid in regional market growth.

Segmentation

Key Industry Developments

• In March 2016, Capilano Group in a joint venture with Comvita Limited formed an apiary business in Australia to produce ‘Leptospermum’ or Manuka honey to be utilized in range of medicinal and natural health products.


• In June 2016, Dabur India Ltd. launched a range of honey products that includes flavoured honey and honey spreads in India to expand its product portfolio range and to compete with other players in the business.