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Honey

Made by bees from flower nectar, honey is adored for its sticky sweetness and versatility in the kitchen. Honey is widely used as a spread, popular as an add-in to tea and its sugary, floral flavor makes it popular as a sweetener and flavoring agent for baked goods, beverages, desserts and sauces. There are hundreds of different types of honey throughout the world, most of them named for the flower they originate from. Clover, orange blossom and sage flowers produce some of America’s most popular honeys. Come along as we take a look at honey on the menu, in new products and on social media!

Hone In On Honey

· Global flavor pairings include Honey Lemon, Honey Mustard, Honey Almond, Honey Roasted/Toasted and Honey Nut.
· Top Brands of US honey products include Greek Gods, Essential Everyday, Heavenly Organics and Smart Sense.
· Small batch honey will continue to attract consumers looking for authentic products and ingredients.
· Honey is thought of as a healthy sweetener by many US consumers.
· Antioxidants, potassium, iron, calcium and magnesium are all found in honey.
· Top Sub-Categories include cold cereals, sweet biscuits/cookies and snack/cereal/energy bars

Honey Hot Spots

We're spotting honey everywhere!
Honey’s classic, sweet flavor has the versatality to be utilized in a multitude of different ways. Check out how these print publications featured honey in their recieps: 

Flavor & The Menu features a “Beverage Trends” article discussing the popularity of honey used by mixologists in cocktails to add notes of sweetness. “The alternative sweetener, which also provides texture to drinks, appears not only as an ingredient, but also to rim glasses, which are then rolled in cinnamon or other spices.”

Bon Appetit features in the “Blank-Canvas Dessert” section, a recipe for Plum Tarts with Honey & Black Pepper. This recipe includes 4 simple ingredients: puff pastry, fresh plums, black pepper and honey, for an appetizer or snack that only takes 20 minutes!

Southern Living magazine features Four Honey Sauces to drizzle over one master recipe: Grilled Salt-And-Pepper Chicken Wings. Sauces include: Cider Vinegar-Brown Butter Honey Drizzle, Horseradish-Honey Mustard Drizzle, Cracked Pepper-Rosemary Honey Drizzle and Chili-Lemon Honey Drizzle.

Southern Living magazine also features an article sharing ways to use honey in just about any dish. Recipes include: Spinach Salad with Honey Dressing and Honeyed Pecans, Honey Flan Dessert, Honey-Roasted Carrots, Honey-And-Soy Lacquered Ribs and Honey-Pineapple Upside-Down Cake with Honey Glaze.

Honey In The Media

While perusing Pinterest, honey pins were spotted with a good assortment of food and beverage recipes—from Honey Baked Garlic Chicken, Honey & Lime Shrimp and Honey Sriracha Salmon to refreshing beverages like Honey Cinnamon Iced Latte, Honeycrisp & Bourbon Spiced Cider and Sparkling Honey Rosemary Lemonade. Pinterest also features a variety of recipes for honey desserts including Goat Cheese & Honey Ice Cream, Lavender Honey Cupcakes, Honey Apple Cake and Honey Salted Caramels. 

On Food.com more than 23,000 recipes appear if you search for honey. Recipe examples include everything from Whole Wheat Honey Banana Muffins, Honey Cornbread and Honey Oatmeal Waffles to Honey Chipotle Pecans to Honey Sesame Pork Tenderloin and Zucchini & Tilapia Cups with Honey Sriracha Drizzle. Recipes for honey mustards, honey butters and honey glazes are commmon.

Mentions on Twitter for honey include Hickory Honey Sea Salt & Vinegar Chips, Pizza Hut’s new Honey Sriracha flavored pizza crust and Honey Macadamia flavored cupcakes.  

Honey On The Menu
Jan 2010 - Nov 2014

Menu Items: 16,582
Top Restaurant Segment: Quick Service
Top Menu Section: Sandwiches

Buttermilk Pancakes with Local Blueberries and Whipped Honey Butter at Hot Chocolate

Blueberry Yogurt Muffin with Honey at Starbucks
Lunch Menu:

Honey-glazed Dates wrapped in Bacon at Salt Bar

Baby Kale Salad with Honey Lime Vinaigrette at Cheebo

Cirtus Honey Glazed Salmon with Toasted Sunflower Seeds at Rockit Bar & Grill
 

Drink Menu:

Bees Knees Cocktail featuring Spring 44 Honey Vodka and Honey Syrup at City Crab & Seafood

Honey Ginger Lemonade featuring Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey at Smokey Bones Bar and Fire Pit

Burnt Honey Goat Cheesecake with Sicilian Pistachio Streusel at Farallon

Honey New Product Introductions, Global
Jan 2010 - Nov 2014

3,448 New Products

Products of Note

Farmer's Union Greek Style Yogurt with Honey: Malaysia

Vitalia Health Food Honey & Almond Garnola Bar: UK

Strongbow Honey Apple Cider: Mexico

Kate's Popcorn No. 6 Honey Chili Popcorn: Germany

Birell Turbo Honey Matl Energy Drink: Egypt

 

Honey New Product Introductions, North America
Jan 2010 - Nov 2014

601New Products

Mediterra Sesame Energy Bar with Orange and Honey

Texas Tea 'Austin's Own' Goodflow Honey Green Tea

Tillamook Farmstyle Greek Honey Peach Flavored Yogurt

The Perfect Snaque Honey Mustard Seasoned Sprouted Lentils

Mossy Oak Honey Apple Salsa

 

To learn more about honey, download the full report here!
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FONA CAN HELP!

Let FONA’s market insight and research experts translate these trends into product category ideas for your brand. They can help you with concept and flavor pipeline development, ideation, consumer studies and white space analysis to pinpoint opportunities in the market. Our flavor and product development experts are also at your service to help meet the labeling and flavor profile needs for your products to capitalize on this consumer trend. We understand how to mesh the complexities of flavor with your brand development, technical requirements and regulatory needs to deliver a complete taste solution. From concept to manufacturing, we’re here every step of the way. Contact our Sales Service Department at 630.578.8600 to request a flavor sample or visit www.fona.com.