Honey Producers, Packers and Importers Meet in…

The food and beverage industry is changing. Consumers are looking for more clean label products that deliver experiences, all-natural ingredients, and indulgence. Food and beverage manufacturers are responding by launching new products that use honey for its flavor, functionality and marketing benefits.

These shifts in the food and beverage industry were on display at the National Honey Board’s (NHB) first ever Honey Industry Summit in Denver on October 25^th. More than 25 honey producers, packers, and importers attended the event at Blue Moon Brewery, which featured a full slate of sessions designed to highlight honey’s inclusion in a variety of food and beverage products.

The event was hosted by the NHB’s Food Ingredient Marketing team, which focuses their marketing and public relations efforts on food and beverage manufacturers that have the potential to use honey as an ingredient.

The day kicked off with an in-depth look at consumer demographics, both overall and as it relates to purchasing habits of honey and made with honey products. Next, attendees experienced five immersive category breakdowns, which included product samplings of some of our favorite made with honey products. The categories analyzed included baking and snack foods, beverages, distilled spirits, breakfast foods and drinks, and beer.

The Honey Industry Summit also featured a Food Industry Panel with four leading innovators talking about their made with honey products and why they use the all-natural sweetener. We can’t thank enough the four industry members that participated in our panel:

The Honey Industry Summit closed with a tour of Blue Moon Brewing Company’s brewery, and a tasting of some of their honey beers. Thank you to all of the members of the honey industry that attended the event, as well as our food panelists and Blue Moon Brewing for hosting us!