Price of Honey per Kilo: Why It Ranges from €5 to Over €50

In France, a kilo of honey now sells for anywhere from about €5 to over €50. The gap is explained mainly by origin (an imported blend or a localised French harvest), by the flower the bees foraged on, which yields more or less honey depending on the year, and by the way the honey is extracted and packed. A low price is not always a con, but it almost always tells a different story from that of a small producer.

How much does a kilo of honey cost in France?

There is no official retail price for honey. The ranges below are indicative observations, noted on supermarket shelves, at markets and from producers, not statistics: they vary by region, by year and by sales channel.

To place a honey, simply divide its price by its weight. A 500 g jar at €4 works out at €8/kg; a 300 g jar at €15 works out at €50/kg.

Why does origin weigh so heavily on the price?

French production is not enough to meet national consumption: a large share of the honey sold in France is imported. On the world market, some countries produce very large volumes at low cost. Packers then blend honeys from several origins to obtain a consistent product with a neutral taste, sold at a low price.

The label tells you where the honey comes from. The regulations require the country or countries where it was harvested to be stated. In France, the law already requires all the countries of origin in a blend to appear on the jar, in order of importance. European Directive 2024/1438, known as the “Breakfast Directive”, extends this transparency across the Union: the countries of origin in a blend must be stated together with their respective shares, according to rules that each Member State sets when transposing it, applicable from 2026.

A honey harvested in a single terroir costs more than a blend. That alone is no guarantee of flavour, but it is a guarantee of traceability.

Why do lavender and thyme honey cost more?

Not all flowers are equal for the bee. Some flowerings, such as rapeseed or sunflower, are abundant and generous with nectar. Others, such as lavender or thyme, yield little, and only when the weather allows.

• A short, fragile flowering: a spring drought, a persistent mistral or a heatwave during flowering is enough to cut the harvest sharply. In some years, certain apiaries produce almost no lavender honey.
• Transhumance: the beekeeper moves the hives to the fields or hills in flower, often at night. Lorry, fuel, keeping watch over the apiaries: these costs are reflected in the price.

A rare monofloral honey is therefore priced rather like an appellation wine. Our article on artisanal honey and how to recognise it explains these differences in production in detail.

Raw or heated honey: how does the process affect the price?

After harvest, the honey is extracted from the frames and then jarred. At a small producer’s, extraction is done cold, by centrifuge, followed by simple settling. The honey keeps its aromas, its pollen and its natural ability to crystallise.

In an industrial chain, honey is often heated to make it more fluid, quicker to pump and filter, and to keep it runny for longer on the shelf. When filtering removes a large part of the pollen, the regulations in fact require the words “filtered honey”. These processes cut costs and standardise the product, at the expense of part of its character.

A raw, cold-extracted, unpasteurised honey requires more time, small tanks and careful jarring. That is one of the reasons for its price.

Does the jar size change the price per kilo?

Yes, markedly. The glass, the lid, the label, the jarring and the shipping cost almost as much for a small jar as for a large one. Per kilo, a 250 or 300 g jar is therefore always more expensive than a 1 kg tub sold at a market.

The sales channel matters too. Buying direct from a beekeeper is often still the most economical way to get a good French honey. A delicatessen or an online shop adds selection, advice and delivery.

Where do our honeys stand, and why?

Our honeys sell for €13 to €15 per 300 g jar, which is about €43 to €50 per kilo. We prefer to say so clearly: that is more expensive than a French honey bought by the kilo at a market. Here is what the price covers.

• A selection: each year, we select six honeys harvested in Provence by partner beekeepers, and only those we feel have turned out well that season.
• Raw honeys: cold-extracted, never pasteurised, never blended, with no added sugar.
• Prized Provençal harvests: lavender honey and thyme honey, at €15, are among the most irregular harvests in the region; garrigue, mountain and forest honeys are €13.
• The 300 g size: a jar designed for tasting and for giving, one you finish while its aromas are at their best.

For everyday cooking, a large jar of French wildflower honey will be more sensible. For tasting, comparing or giving, the full range of our honeys harvested in Provence is presented with their terroir.

How can you spot an abnormally cheap honey?

A cheap honey is not necessarily a fake honey. Most often, it is a legal blend of imported honeys, simply with less character. But a few signals are a cue to read the label more closely.

• The words “blend of EU and non-EU honeys”: this is legal, but it means the origins are multiple. Check the list of countries and their shares when they are given.
• A missing or vague origin: a jar that names no country of harvest does not comply with the regulations.
• A honey that is always perfectly runny: most raw honeys eventually crystallise. Some, such as acacia, stay runny for a very long time; for the others, permanent fluidity often points to heating.
• A price far below the cost of French production: a honey presented as French and sold for under ten euros or so per kilo deserves a question.
• A vague name: “honey flavour”, “honey preparation” or “syrup” do not mean honey. Honey, by legal definition, contains no added ingredients.

Checks on imported honeys coordinated by the European Commission concluded that a significant share of the samples was suspected of containing added syrups. This does not point to any particular brand or country, but it is a reminder that traceability comes at a price.