In this mini episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Keith Seiz of the National Honey Board to unpack why honey has become one of the most in-demand ingredients in food and beverage right now - and what that means for brands and formulators looking to work with it.
Keith has spent 17 years working with the National Honey Board, traveling the country to talk with food manufacturers, distillers, brewers, and bakers about how to formulate better products with honey. In that time, he's watched the conversation shift - what used to be a handful of questions about honey itself has grown into an equal mix of curiosity about honey and the honeybees behind it, as consumers pay closer attention to where their ingredients actually come from.
Daniel and Keith dig into the data behind honey's rapid growth, the new product categories it's showing up in, the functional (not just flavor) benefits formulators are leaning on, and the free resources the National Honey Board offers CPG brands - from troubleshooting to ready-made product concepts.
Listen in as they discuss:
- Why honey has become one of the hottest ingredients in food and beverage right now
- The consumer shift toward traditional and natural sweeteners over zero-sugar alternatives
- INOVA data showing a 16.7% increase in new products launched with honey in 2025
- How honey has expanded well beyond baked goods into beverages, snacks, frozen foods, dairy, and confections
- Why brands are proudly featuring honey (and honeybees) on front-of-package, unlike most other sweeteners
- The shift from single-purpose synthetic ingredients toward multi-functional natural ones like honey
- Honey's functional roles beyond sweetness, including binding in bars and emulsification in dressings
- Why honey's 24 different carbohydrates make it such an effective flavor masker for nutrient-fortified products
- What the National Honey Board offers CPG brands, including troubleshooting, innovation support, and consumer data
- How emerging brands can get free product development support, including ready-to-use honey product concepts from the National Honey Board's innovation team
Interested in learning more? Check out www.honey.com or follow along on IG @honey4pros for more tips and updates from The National Honey Board. Or, you can email Keith directly today at keith@honey.com.
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