Honey Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application (Food & Beverages, Personal Care & Cosmetics, Pharmaceutical), By Distribution Channel, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 - 2025

Industry Insights 

The global honey market size was valued at USD 8.4 billion in 2018. Shifting consumer preferences towards a healthy, nutritious, and natural alternative for sugar as well as artificial sweetener is expected to be a major driver. Furthermore, the product is expected to gain traction as it provides excellent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antimicrobial properties.

Honey is a rich source of various nutrients including natural sugar, vitamins, minerals, and calcium. Moreover, apart from its direct human consumption, over the past few years, it has been used as a key ingredient in various applications including energy drinks and bars, cookies, breakfast cereals, bakery products, confectionary, and alcoholic drinks like mead.

Furthermore, it acts as an alternative to the sugar and other chemical artificial sweeteners. These factors encourage consumers to consume honey in their daily breakfast and meals in order to gain a sustainable lifestyle and healthy diet in order to prevent chronic health issues. Furthermore, it is beneficial for weight management, improving metabolic activity, reducing the risk of diabetes, maintaining blood pressure, and promoting wound and burn healing.

Over the past few years, awareness regarding health benefits associated with honey has been significantly increased. Governments and international organizations are promoting it as an important food ingredient as well as beneficial mediational ingredient. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended it as an effective natural remedy for cough in small children as well as for chronic cough in adults.

In addition, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recognized honey as a potential remedy for various respiratory tract infections. These recommendations as well as initiatives by the international organizations and governments are expected to open new avenues over the next few years.

Application Insights

The food and beverages segment led the market and held a revenue share of 71.4% in 2018. The product is widely used in the food and beverage industry on account of its nutritional benefits as well as flavor. It is also widely used for direct consumption, preparation of cuisines and healthy drinks, and as a home remedy for common ailment.

Due to a significant increase in the number of applications, the manufacturers are launching new organic products in order to cater to the growing demand for the products across the globe. For instance, in January 2018, Emami Ltd., an India based leading FMCG player, introduced pure and organic honey under the brand name ‘Zandu Pure Honey’ for the health conscious customers. The company aims at providing pure product with zero sugar content.

Distribution Channel Insights

The supermarket/hypermarket segment was the largest distribution channel in 2018, accounting for exceeding 60.0% share of the global revenue. Over the past few years, key players have been investing in developing countries such as India, Thailand, Bangladesh, and Taiwan in order to capture the untapped applications. These factors are expected to prompt the offline sales of the product over the forecast period. In February 2019, 7-Eleven, one of the largest convenience store chains, entered in an agreement with Future Group in order to launch its first series of store in India.

The online segment is expected to be the fastest growing distribution channel, expanding at a revenue-based CAGR of 8.5% from 2019 to 2025 as a result of increasing penetration of internet across the globe, coupled with the ease of shopping. Furthermore, online channels such as social media, promotional ads, and google ads are playing an important role in influencing the consumer preferences for shopping through e-commerce platforms including Walmart, Auchan, Amazon, Grofers, and Rakuten.

In addition, increasing penetration of high-speed internet and smartphone users in the developing countries including India and Philippines are expected to promote the access of e-commerce portals for the honey. ‘Flipkart’, an online giant in India, which has become a part of Walmart on May 2018, launches discount offers time to time in order to propel the sales. This, in turn, will promote online purchase over the forecast period.

Regional Insights

Europe was the largest consumer, accounting for more than 30.0% share of the global volume in 2018. Major manufacturers are adopting various marketing strategies including new product launches, product innovation, retail chain expansion, and mergers and acquisitions in order to gain a competitive edge in the market.

For instance, in January 2018, Altıparmak, one of the renowned honey companies of Turkey, received a funding of USD 4.98 million from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the advancement and development of its value chain. The bank funded the company for the enhancement for its natural honey production, innovations in Apitherapy, and value chain improvement.

Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing market, expanding at a revenue-based CAGR of 8.5% from 2019 to 2025. The strong foothold of apiculture, coupled with high concentration of middle income age-groups in countries including China and India, is projected to promote investments by the prospecting companies in the near future.

Honey Market Share Insights

The global honey market is fragmented in nature owing to the presence of a large number of domestic as well as foreign players including Beeyond the Hive; Dabur India Ltd.; Barkman Honey, LLC.; New Zealand Honey Co.; and Dutch Gold Honey Inc. Moreover, key manufacturers are adopting market strategies including mergers and acquisitions, new product launch, and expansion of the production line as well as distribution channel in order to gain the maximum customer base. For instance, in April 2019, Hilltop Honey Limited launched a wide range of products including Manuka Honey and Organic Fairtrade Honey. The company launched its new products for the retail market in U.K.

Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at the global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2015 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global honey market report on the basis of application, distribution channel, and region:

• Application Outlook (Volume, Kilo Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

  • Food & Beverages

  • Personal Care & Cosmetics

  • Pharmaceutical

• Distribution Channel Outlook (Volume, Kilo Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

  • Convenience Stores

  • Supermarket/Hypermarket

  • Online

• Regional Outlook (Volume, Kilo Tons; Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • U.K.

    • France

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

  • Central & South America

  • Middle East & Africa

    • Saudi Arabia