HONEY IN THE OPINION OF CONSUMERS

Abstract

Honey is a highly-valued food product in every region of the world. The aim of this paper is to determine the preferences of honey consumers. The research was carried out using a proprietary questionnaire made available on the Internet. 110 respondents took part in the research, with only 5.4% declaring no consumption of honey. In the research sample, there was no difference in the percentage of people consuming honey by gender. The survey results also showed that the majority of respondents most often consumed honey several times a month (31.6%), or several times a week (31.6%). With regards to issues in purchasing honey, respondents most often declared purchasing honey in jars of a capacity of 0.9 litre, directly from beekeepers and for single amounts ranging from PLN 30 to PLN 99. Beekeepers were said to be an important source of information about honey by 38% of the respondents. The most preferred varieties of honey among the respondents were lime and multi-flower honey. With regards to perception of taste based on gender, the research found that acacia and rape honeys were similarly assessed by both genders, while for other honey types some differences were noted. Women preferred lime and honeydew, whereas men preferred multi-flower and buckwheat varieties.