National Honey Board

What National Honey Board does

The National Honey Board is a federally authorized, USDA-supervised industry research and promotion board that conducts marketing, consumer education, and scientific research on behalf of the U.S. honey industry. Established by an Act of Congress in 1987 and reauthorized via USDA-AMS referendum in 2008, it is funded by a mandatory $0.015 per pound assessment on first handlers and importers of domestically produced and imported honey and honey products (handlers and importers under 250,000 pounds per year are exempt). The Board consists of 20 members (10 primary plus 10 alternates) appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, representing producers, first handlers, importers, and a marketing cooperative, and is led by CEO Margaret Lombard.

The Board's core offering is the honey.com platform and associated content ecosystem, including the Honey Locator supplier directory, a recipe database, a blog ("Straight From the Hive"), and segment-specific resource hubs for food processors, foodservice operators, retailers, nutrition professionals, and the honey industry. It runs the Chef Ambassador / Spotlight program, produces the "Celebrating Beekeeping" video series, and operates the NHB Store for promotional materials. The technology footprint is informational and promotional rather than transactional — there are no AI capabilities, APIs, or proprietary models disclosed, and no honey is sold by the Board itself.

Commercially, the Board does not operate a pricing or revenue model in the conventional sense: it does not sell honey, does not license products, and does not generate SaaS revenue. Its sole revenue stream is the federally mandated commodity assessment collected monthly from first handlers and through U.S. Customs from importers, with 5% of anticipated revenue allocated annually to honey bee health research and an additional $1 million committed over five years from 2023 to scientific nutrition research. Operating geographies are United States–only by mandate, with limited international consumer reach through the Honey Locator (U.S., Canada, Germany).

Name

National Honey Board

Legal name

National Honey Board

Website

https://honey.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The National Honey Board is a USDA-supervised, federally authorized commodity promotion board that funds research, marketing, and consumer education for the U.S. honey industry via a $0.015 per pound mandatory assessment on handlers and importers. It serves consumers, food processors, foodservice operators, retailers, nutrition professionals, and the honey industry through honey.com content and resource programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Marketing and Promotion

NAICS

Apiculture (112910), Apiculture (11291)

SIC

Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200)

akta.pro primary industry

Honey Production & Extraction (AFAEAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Honey & Apiculture Sweeteners (Honey, Honey Powders) (AFAJAAAL), Bee Health Management & Treatments (Mite/Disease Control Products & Services) (AFAEAHAK), Beekeeping Training, Education & Advisory Services (AFAEAHAO)

Keywords

• Honey industry promotion
• Agricultural research board
• Commodity marketing programs
• Bee health research
• Consumer honey education

Headquarters

HQ city

Longmont

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Industry Assessment Fees: The NHB collects mandatory assessments from honey handlers and importers at a rate of $0.015 per pound on domestically produced and imported honey and honey products. First handlers remit monthly reports and payments, while importers pay through U.S. Customs. Organizations handling or importing less than 250,000 pounds per year are exempt.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

The National Honey Board is a USDA-authorized research and promotion board that conducts research, marketing, and consumer education programs for the U.S. honey industry. It funds bee health and nutrition research, develops recipes and educational content, provides merchandising and technical resources to food processors, foodservice, retail, and nutrition professionals, and operates a Honey Locator directory connecting consumers with honey suppliers. The organization is funded through mandatory industry assessments rather than product sales.

Product overview

The National Honey Board operates honey.com primarily as an informational and promotional platform — not a traditional SaaS product — offering a suite of content-driven services organized around honey education, industry support, and consumer engagement. The core platform includes the honey.com website, the Honey Locator supplier directory, a Recipes Portal organized by meal type, and a Blog. Supporting sub-products span Food Processors Resources, Foodservice Resources, Retail Resources, the Celebrating Beekeeping video series, the NHB Store for promotional materials, and an E-Newsletter. All offerings are non-transactional, designed to promote honey consumption and support industry stakeholders.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NHB Store Promotional Materials Box A paid online storefront offering all-inclusive boxes of promotional and educational materials to industry members, including brochures, recipe guides, activity sheets for children, and bee-related educational posters. Limited to one order per calendar year per customer with flat-rate shipping to the continental U.S.
• Honey Locator Supplier Directory A free search tool that enables consumers to find honey producers, packers, and importers across the U.S., Canada, and Germany, with filters by state, zip code, floral source, honey form, container size, and additional products/services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Honey has a presence on over 60% of restaurant menus industry-wide
• +2 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Project Apis m.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Partnership to invest $10 million together by 2020 to support research on issues like Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and external factors affecting honey bees. Project Apis m. is a leading honey bee research organization focused on improving honey bee health.
• Pollinator PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017NHB partnered with the Pollinator Partnership and 17 other organizations following Hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017 to support Caribbean Bee Rescue Campaign, with a goal to raise $50,000 to save pollinators affected by the hurricanes.
• American Beekeeping FederationsupportingOthersNHB refers people to the American Beekeeping Federation for information on beekeeping associations, publications, and resources. ABF provides a directory of beekeeping associations by state.
• USDA Agricultural Research ServicesupportingOthersNHB directs people to USDA's Agricultural Research Service for information on Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and related honey bee health research.
• American Honey Producers AssociationsupportingOthersNHB refers people to the American Honey Producers Association for more detailed information on honey bees and beekeeping practices.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Strengths1 record

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NationalHoney
• Facebookfacebook.com/NationalHoneyBoard

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Honey Board