The significance of honey for producers of food is decreasing, a German businesswoman has warned.
Karin Lang runs Sonnentracht, a manufacturer of natural sweeteners such as maple syrup and agave syrup.
Speaking to the Bienen Journal magazine, the food technologist and CEO said more and more foodstuff companies were opting for ingredients like the ones her enterprise is producing.
Karin explained that by doing so, the producers of cookies and cereals were enabled to label their products as vegan.
The Bremen-based businesswoman, who is a beekeeper herself, encourages apiarists to get in touch with residents, schools and restaurants to underline the significance of their product.
Karin named intensified marketing efforts and the organisation of lectures or workshops as potential measures.
She concluded: “Honey needs to remain a topic people are talking about. It is one of the oldest and most popular kinds of food.”
The price for German honey rose by more than five per cent from 2022 to 2023, according to surveys.
One 500-gramme jar currently costs EUR 6.50 (GBP 5.62) on average, surveys have shown. The mean per-capita consumption of honey in the country soared by 15 per cent to 935 grammes from 2021 to 2022.
There are more than 149,000 beekeepers in Germany. Most of them are non-professionals.