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National Honey Board

Annual Report

2012

2NATIONAL HONEY BOARD ANNUAL REPORT 2012

Contents

Board Members 3

Marketing Report 4

General Consumer Public Relations 5

Hispanic Public Relations 8

Sports Marketing Public Relations 10

Foodservice Public Relations 10

Ingredient Public Relations 13

In House Public Relations 16

Research Report 18

Production Research 18

Development of Honey Purity Test 18

Market Research & Data Collection 18

Other Research 18

Treasurer’s Report 19

3NATIONAL HONEY BOARD ANNUAL REPORT 2012 BACK TO CONTENTS

FIRST HANDLERS: BOARD MEMBERS

Brent Barkman, Chairman

Nancy J. Gamber-Olcott, Secretary-Treasurer

Buddy Ashurst

ALTERNATE MEMBERS

Ilene Miller

Eric Wenger

Brian Nipper

IMPORTERS: BOARD MEMBERS

Candace Trussler

Elise Gagnon

ALTERNATE MEMBERS

Ronald Phipps

Charles Kocot

IMPORTER-HANDLER:

BOARD MEMBER

Hans J. Boedeker

ALTERNATE MEMBER

Mathias Leitner

MARKETING COOPERATIVE:

BOARD MEMBER

Mark Mammen, Vice Chairman

ALTERNATE MEMBER

Robert Brandi

PRODUCERS:

BOARD MEMBERS

Zac Browning

Mark Jensen

George Hansen

ALTERNATE MEMBERS

David Ellingson

Mark Brady

Bonnie Woodworth

2012 National Honey Board Members & Alternates


The National Honey Board (NHB) is dedicated to

developing educational and promotional programs

that are designed to increase demand for honey and

honey products. The organization reaches out to

consumers, both English and Spanish-speaking, the

foodservice industry, food manufacturers, retail and

wholesale bakers, health care professionals,

registered dieticians and nutritionists, as well as the

fitness and athletic community. With such a diverse

group of target audiences, the challenge lies in

finding appropriate strategies that effectively reach

each segment and make an impact.

To better understand the ever-evolving interests and

needs of its audiences, the NHB conducts market

research geared toward identifying the diverse

perceptions and uses of honey. Based on this

information, the NHB creates various resources,

including websites, collateral pieces, promotional

materials, programs, events and more. The multitude

of resources serves to address various audiences, so

that information can be easily found and the content

is most relevant to their needs, thereby positioning

the NHB as the direct resource for all things honey.

The NHB’s marketing programs strive to strengthen

and enhance the image of honey. In 2012, the

marketing efforts focused on generating widespread

awareness of honey and its many uses and benefits.

Through NHB’s market research and trend tracking,

the Board identified ways to capitalize how honey fits

into its audiences’ demands and the movement

toward more natural foods.

The NHB’s marketing programs continued to promote

honey as a versatile kitchen staple as an all-natural,

flavor-enhancing culinary ingredient. In addition, the

programs also sought to educate the various

audiences about honey’s benefits outside of the

kitchen as an effective cough suppressant and skin

moisturizer, as well as an energy booster. Elements

like recipe promotions, chef events, intensive media

outreach, sports marketing events and more,

showcased honey’s versatility through increased

publicity that emphasized honey’s

marketability and popularity in

products and promotions.

The following are highlights

from the 2012 marketing

program areas.

National Honey Board Annual Marketing Report


First Birthday Educational Program

The NHB began its second year of partnership with the

National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners

(NAPNAP) continuing the efforts of the honey education

program entitled “Welcome to the ONE-derful World of

Honey,” to coincide with a child’s first birthday. This year,

the honey education program targeted more health

influencers and consumers. The program included a bi-

lingual educational tear-sheet pad (in both English/

Spanish) to remind parents of the reasons why honey is

recommended to babies after age one. The tool also

included a wholesome first birthday cake recipe to serve at

first birthday parties, connecting honey to a pleasurable

childhood occasion. The tool was mailed to a targeted

segment of the NAPNAP professionals and also distributed

at the NAPNAP conference.

Further health care community education efforts included

the distribution of our tear-sheet pads at the American

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Food and Nutrition

Conference Expo. We also widened our message to

consumers through both traditional and online media, as

well as reached them through a multi-media press release

and radio news release timed in September (National

Honey Month). Total media pickup and coverage of the

traditional press

release and the

multi-media release

is estimated to have

reached 140 million

unique visitors. The

campaign also

earned a prestigious

Gold Sabre Award

from the public

relations industry.

GENERAL CONSUMER PUBLIC RELATIONS $947,975

Highlights of 2012 Marketing Programs

Martha Stewart Morning Living Radio Show

During September (National Honey Month), the

NHB coordinated four integrated cooking

segments on Martha Stewart Morning Living’s

How-To Cooking School on Sirius Radio. Each

segment was announced as sponsored by the

NHB and encouraged consumers to visit honey.

com. Several of the NHB key messages were

included in the integrations, in addition to the

on air 10-second and 30-second branded spots

to support the four segments.

The first integration incorporated honey into a

recipe demonstration of Cantaloupe and

Avocado Salad with honey. The nine- minute

segment focused on honey as their favorite

ingredient and using honey to take the edge off

of bitter flavor. The second integration

incorporated honey into a recipe demonstration

of Sesame Chicken. The four-minute segment

focused on honey as more than a sweetener

but the unique benefits it adds to any dish. The

third integration featured the NHB’s recipe for

Honey Pizza Dough. The segment focused on

how easy it is to use honey in recipes. It also

showcased honey as being a must have when

working with whole grains. The fourth segment

focused on how to make the Honey Walnut

Coin recipe, plus mentioned the different types

of honey varietals. The two co-hosts spoke on

their personal uses of honey as glazes for a side

dish and an ingredient at a wedding.

The Martha Stewart radio integration was an

excellent culinary promotion for National Honey

Month. The radio program is available to 23

million Sirius listeners.


GENERAL CONSUMER PUBLIC RELATIONS (CONT’D)


Test Kitchen Seminars with Chef David Guas

The NHB hosted three test kitchen seminars in March

and April to showcase honey’s versatility and benefits

to editors from some of the top food and lifestyle

magazines and blogs. The goal of the test kitchen

seminars is to build relationships with editors and

provide them with information for future honey

stories. Overall, during the three test kitchen seminars

the NHB met with forty-eight people from twenty-

two outlets, including: Cooking Light, Coastal Living, Southern Living, Better Homes & Gardens, Kraft, Diabetic Living, and Living Country Life, as well as bloggers from

San Francisco and surrounding bay area cities.

During the seminars, NHB spokesperson Chef David

Guas discussed how honey is the one essential

ingredient to not only spice up lunch items for both

kids and adults, but also shared other culinary ideas

and trends to demonstrate the versatility of honey, as

well as how unique it is. After discussing the

versatility and benefits of honey, Chef Guas walked

editors through a tasting of his lunchbox recipes

(“Crunchy” Honey Toasted Almond Spread, Grape

and Almond Salad with Honey Yogurt Dressing,

Honey-Candied Bacon and Lettuce Sandwich, Honey

and Whole Grain Mustard-Glazed Pork Chop and

Honey-Lemon Cheesecake Pops). The sandwich,

grape salad, pork chop and cheesecake pops were

new recipes. During the San Francisco event, Chef

Guas also lead attendees in a honey tasting where

guests were invited to try 6 different varietals and

guess the flavor profiles.

The Story of Honey

To combat some of the confusion and

misunderstanding about honey appearing in the

media, the NHB created a mini-documentary entitled

“The Story of Honey.” The short film captures the

many positives of honey, shining light on how honey

is harvested, from honey bee to table, as well as being

a vital component of a healthy ecosystem and having

whole body benefits. A multi-media release (MMR)

was developed to support distribution of the mini-

documentary. The MMR release contained videos of

experts including Beekeeper Gene Brandi; VP/Sales

and Marketing of Dutch Gold Jill Clark; Chef David

Guas, and Dr. Ian Paul, M.D., M.Sc.

The release also contained a press release announcing

the NHB clarifying confusion over pollen and

ultrafiltration. Honey fact sheets on the NHB, honey

varietals and an industry fact sheet were also

available. A “Sweet Truth vs. Fiction” fact sheet was

also developed, taking a few of the common

misconceptions and providing answers, and a photo


GENERAL CONSUMER PUBLIC RELATIONS (CONT’D)


The Story of Honey (cont’d)

gallery and recipes were made available to help

educate consumers. A traditional press release

announcing the MMR was distributed over PR

Newswire, while the MMR was distributed over PR

Web.

The MMR allowed us to reach both online and

traditional communities, serving as a one-stop tool

where all educational assets are centralized. Total

media coverage of the traditional press release and

the multimedia release included pickup by 425

outlets and the potential to reach 85 million unique

visitors.

Academy of Nutrition and

Dietetics Educational Webinar

The NHB educated health care influencers through an

educational webinar to the Academy of Nutrition and

Dietetics’ Dietitians in Integrative and Functional

Medicine Practice Group. The webinar entitled

“Honey, Research You Can Use,” featured

spokespeople Dr. Ian Paul and Mitzi Dulan RD, CSSD.

They discussed honey research in two parts: Dr. Paul

presented “Science and Research” which focused on

the scientific research that supports honey as a

natural cough suppressant. Dulan presented “NHB

Focus Groups and Survey Research” which included

top line results from our First Birthday program’s

focus groups and online survey. The goal was to

teach and remind influencers about the proper age to

feed honey to children along with the many benefits

of honey, including its use as a natural cough

suppressant.

The webinar was viewed by 248 participants the day

of the Webinar, and an additional 45 listened at a

later date; the webinar was available online for six

months following the original presentation. Top

findings based on the evaluation results showed that

92% learned something new. Before the webinar, 60%

never recommended honey as a cough suppressant;

and after webinar, 74% were much more likely to

recommend honey as a cough suppressant.

Beauty Benefits of Honey - Blogger Spa Lunches

The NHB hosted three intimate beauty blogger

events to focus on the beauty benefits of honey

entitled Discover the Beauty of Pure Honey—One Ingredient. The Way Nature Intended. The NHB selected

three key media markets for the events that included:

Los Angeles, Dallas and Atlanta. These were both

lunch and evening events.

As part of the beauty blogger events, we partnered

with the online blogger group called Blissful Media.

With the Blissful Media partnership, we secured six

bloggers to attend each event (2 per event) which

guaranteed 6 blog posts total. In addition, Blissful

Media also held three giveaway posts on its website.

Also, as part of the partnership the NHB had a honey

beauty focused newsletter which reached their more

than 3,000 subscribers. Additionally, web banner ads

were developed and hosted on Blissful Media for four

months which directed users to www.honey.com.

These events helped the NHB increase awareness of

honey for its versatility as a beauty ingredient. The

events garnered 19 placements of online coverage

with a potential 2.4 million impressions. The events

also enabled the NHB to build relationships with key

beauty and lifestyle bloggers, journalists and industry

honey evangelists.

http://www.honey.com



HISPANIC PUBLIC RELATIONS $434,738

Kick Off Summer with an Ice Cold Honey Treat

Launching the Kick Off Summer with an Ice Cold

Honey Treat campaign in early July, the NHB along

with partner Lauda Flores of Sno-Con Amor, took the

concept of traditional raspados (shaved ice) and

re-introduced it in a new honey-infused form to enjoy

during the hot summer months. As a raspado expert

and believer in using natural ingredients, Lauda’s

recipes celebrated the distinct flavor honey adds to

classic raspados and how it compliments popular

Latin favorites like tamarind, lime and strawberry.

The NHB participated at three grassroots events

aimed at Hispanic consumers. All three were family

oriented events; however they all had different

themes that allowed NHB messaging to reach

younger demographics through a concert (Megaton

Mundial), a sporting event (Viva Los Dodgers), and a

cultural heritage family event (Junta Hispana). These

events were carefully selected because of their large

attendance, as well as the most diverse crowds within

the Hispanic community.

Additional promotional activities that supported the

campaign messaging included the creation of honey-

based raspados recipe booklets to distribute to

consumers attending grassroots events, posting of all

honey ice treat recipes on www.mielpura.org and

Spanish-language Facebook page, as well as a media

tour with Lauda Flores in Los Angeles.

The NHB distributed more than 3,850 ice cold honey

treats to visitors of the NHB booths across all three

grassroots events, as well as 750 recipe booklets

allowing visitors to recreate the raspado recipes at

home. The campaign also resulted in 277 online

placements, 37 print placements, 30 radio

placements, and one television placement.

Honey + 4 Ingredients

The NHB introduced Hispanic consumers to easy

holiday entertaining hors d’oeuvre recipes that could

be created with honey and just four other ingredients.

The offerings spanned both sweet and savory recipes

in order to appeal to a wide spectrum of taste buds,

and to those looking to add a few new and simple

recipes to their holiday menu. Known for her

creativity in the kitchen, the NHB enlisted the help of

food expert and author of Nibbles & Feasts, Ericka

Sanchez, to come up with the diverse honey recipes,

including: Prosciutto Honey Wrap, Honey-brushed

Pear Crostinis, Cheese-stuffed Figs with Peppery

Honey Port Syrup, Honey Lime Chicken Skewers, Mini

Bunuelos with Honey Cream, and Honey Ricotta

Puffs.

Key messages focused on how decreasing the

amount of time spent in the kitchen preparing foods

can increase the amount of time spent with their



HISPANIC PUBLIC RELATIONS (CONT’D)

Honey + 4 Ingredients (cont’d)

loved ones around the holidays, all with the help of

honey. In addition, the recipes could function as go-to

appetizers for future parties, such as birthdays,

reunions or fun social gatherings. The campaign

resulted in 266 online placements and 32 print

placements.

Honey Fitness Challenge

The NHB began 2012 with the goal of helping

consumers get back into smarter eating habits by

incorporating the all-natural energy of honey into

their daily regimen. Launched in February, the Honey

Fitness Challenge campaign consisted of a complete

7-day meal plan, quick and easy exercise routines and

tips on how to meet your personal fitness goals. Once

again, the NHB engaged fitness expert Bárbara

Trujillo-Gómez to act as a spokesperson. As the

founder of her own fitness brand, B&B Fit, and author

of “…Bárbara por Atrás” – A Latin Woman’s Guide to Fitness, Bárbara’s familiar persona proved to be an

effective voice for the campaign and she was once

again well received by media. She helped drive the

key messaging of starting the New Year off right by

challenging oneself to get fit and fueling this path to

success with honey.

The success of the program was driven by the

promotional activities developed to support the

campaign messaging that included a photo and video

shoot of the various exercise routines, development

of a microsite dedicated to the Honey Fitness

Challenge where visitors had access to how-to

exercise videos, progress charts, tips on how to get

and stay fit, and a complete 7-day honey-based meal

plan, as well as media tours in Los Angeles, San

Francisco and New York. The campaign generated a

total of 411 placements broken down as follows: 313

online placements, 86 print placements, 5 radio

placements, and 7 television placements.

Look Your Best for a Big Day with Honey

In May, the NHB introduced a campaign that brought

Latinas a simple, at-home honey-based beauty

routine to prep their skin for their Big Day, whether it

be their quinceañera, wedding or prom. The NHB

enlisted the help of celebrity makeup artist Vicky

Mejía to develop the beauty routine in which honey

was the key ingredient in each of the steps to help

them get glowing skin the natural way. The key

messaging focused around how planning a big event

can be stressful, and how using the honey routine

throughout the planning period and up until the Big

Day would benefit their “canvas” by keeping their skin

hydrated.

The campaign had many promotional activities to

support the honey beauty messaging, which included

the execution of a “Big Day” online contest/giveaway,

a “Big Day” event for media/bloggers at Le Petit

Retreat Spa in Los Angeles, as well as a media tour

with Vicky Mejía in Miami, New York and Southern

California (Los Angeles and Palm Springs). Results for

the campaign consisted of 279 online placements, 15

print placements, 5 radio placements, and 11 television

placements.

SPORTS MARKETING PUBLIC RELATIONS $355,000

FOODSERVICE PUBLIC RELATIONS $391,548



Hyde Park and Greystone) were invited to participate

in the Final Four Cook-off, Aug. 20 at the CIA

Greystone. The Cook-off event included a judging

panel comprised of NHB representatives and Chefs

jW Foster of the Fairmont San Francisco, and Ray

Martin, BJ’s Restaurants and Cheesecake Factory

veteran. After a fierce but friendly competition, the

panel deliberated at length before naming the Grand

Prize winner and three Finalists.

Final Four Cook-off Recipes and Winners:

$5,000 Grand Prize Scholarship: Goat Cheese

Tempura with Honey Dipping Sauces (Appetizer)

– Perry Xu Cao (CIA Hyde Park).

Student Recipe Contest —

Sweet 16 Honey Recipe Challenge

The NHB partnered with the Culinary Institute of

America (CIA) to conduct a student recipe contest on

its three U.S. campuses (Greystone, Hyde Park and

San Antonio). Titled the “Sweet 16 Honey Recipe

Challenge,” the contest kicked off with honey varietal

tastings/workshops on each of the three CIA

campuses in May. The NHB received 75 inspiring

entries, which were then reviewed carefully to identify

the 16 Semifinalists (the “Sweet 16”) across four

categories – Appetizer, Side-Salad, Entrée and

Dessert. One standout in each category was then

identified, culminating in the “Final Four” announced

in July. The Finalists (two students each from CIA

Minor League Baseball (MiLB) Sponsorship

The NHB launched its fifth annual tie-in to Minor

League Baseball in 2012, beginning in early April at

the start of the season, and continuing through

post-season into early September. The program

aligned NHB with seven teams with strong fan

support and attendance numbers: Indianapolis

Indians, Memphis Redbirds, New Orleans Zephyrs,

NW Arkansas Naturals, Omaha Storm Chasers,

Rochester Red Wings and the Oklahoma City

RedHawks. These teams/markets were selected

based on overall attendance and promotional

capabilities, quality of media and radio partners,

ability to execute the honey receipt redemption or

ticket discount program for fans and the

opportunities to provide the NHB with messaging

and awareness building initiatives in markets not

previously reached through this program.

A comprehensive promotion package was developed

with each team. Every promotion alignment included

positioning honey as the Official Natural Energy

Booster of each team, prominent stadium signage,

nightly in-stadium between inning honey trivia fan

contest to reinforce honey messaging points,

broadcast radio announcements of the Pure Energy

Play of the Game, brought to you by honey…, on-air

radio interviews, informational handouts, team

website banner ads and honey made available to

each trainer and provided to the players on the team

training table.

Additionally, each team was provided a honey bear

mascot suit and incorporated the character into many

on-field activities all season long, adding fun to the

honey messaging and presence.

The 2012 MiLB promotion proved very successful,

bringing the honey messaging into new markets and

audiences and positioning honey in a natural, high

energy setting targeting families.


FOODSERVICE PUBLIC RELATIONS (CONT’D)of ()


Student Recipe Contest (cont’d)

$1,000 Finalist Scholarships: Honey-Seared Ahi Tuna

with Citrus and Greens (Sides/Salad) – Jennifer Shea

(CIA Greystone), Ba Kwa Style Pork Burger with

Honey-Lime Pickle, Sweet Thyme Aioli and Okinawan

Sweet Potato Fries with Kecap Manis (Entrée) – Eric

Hodet (CIA Hyde Park), and Honey and Blackberry

Ice Cream Sandwich (Dessert) – Courtney Weyl (CIA

Greystone).

Menuing and Promotion

The NHB continued outreach to 2011 Honey Summit

attendees during the 2012 program year to confirm

new honey-inspired menu items. In addition, the NHB

pitched suggested menuing and promotion

opportunities to these outlets via culinary contacts

established as part of the Honey Summit. Ongoing

outreach and communications with BJ’s Restaurant

and Brewhouse remained positive, ultimately yielding

a promotional opportunity with BJ’s in Q4.

The BJ’s Small Bites promotion included in-store

signage (stanchions and table-top) featuring the

Honey One logo and photography of a honey-

inspired menu item, Watermelon and Feta Salad with

Honey Vinaigrette. The Honey promotional materials

(table-tops and stanchions) were featured at 126 BJ’s

locations nationwide (x 6,700 customers per week

=> 1.6 million customers reached). The honey-

inspired menu and promotion was featured via

Facebook, Twitter and an e-blast to BJ’s customers.

The NHB enjoyed a

multi-faceted first

promotion with

BJ’s Restaurant and

Brewhouse that

establishes an

excellent case

study to

merchandise to

other prospects

moving forward

into 2013.

Cocktail Guide

Development & Promotion

The NHB designed and produced the much-

anticipated Sweet Stirrings honey cocktail guide in the

summer of 2012. It is spiral-bound and bar-ready with

50 laminated pages of honey cocktail recipes,

photography and other honey tips and information.

Designed to inform and inspire food and beverage

professionals to use honey in cocktails, the Sweet Stirrings guide features 32 honey cocktail recipes and

gorgeous color photography. It is organized into five

tabbed sections for easy reference: Martinis,

Highballs, Sours and Frozen Drinks, Smashes and

Stick Drinks, and Wine and Ale Cocktails. It also

includes a quote from Master Mixologist, H. Joseph

Ehrmann of Elixir San Francisco, citing honey as an

ideal cocktail ingredient.

The NHB supported the launch of the new Sweet

Stirrings cocktail guide through a number of media

and promotional vehicles. The honey cocktail guide

launch commenced with trade media outreach,




Cocktail Guide Development & Promotion (cont’d)

including a teaser mailing followed by distribution of

the cocktail guide and a press release/pitch.

Additional elements of the custom creative and

strategic promotional package included:

• Debutanddistributionofthenewhoneycocktail

guide at Tales of the Cocktail, a key industry event

• Imbibemagazinepartnership,includingahoney

cocktail video featuring H. Joseph Ehrmann,

Imbibe banner ads and Facebook//Twitter

promotions

• PromotionviaHot from the Hive e-newsletter and

on www.honey.com

Additionally, the honey cocktail guide was made

available via www.honey.com to food and beverage

professionals, as well as directly at several 2012 trade

shows/conferences, including International

Foodservice Editorial Council (with an exclusive honey

cocktail station), Les Dames d’ Escoffier and Portland

Cocktail Week.

E-Newsletter — Hot from the Hive

The NHB foodservice industry quarterly e-newsletter,

Hot from the Hive, has captured an engaged and

growing reader base since its launch in August 2010.

Throughout 2012, the NHB continued delivering fresh

content in an attractive, user-friendly format to edify

reader loyalty. The NHB continues to maintain high

standards for content and delivery of honey news

through Hot from the Hive, keeping readers engaged

and looking forward to each issue. Most recently, the

NHB added an “On the Menu” section to highlight

honey menuing at foodservice operations across the

country.

Through timely and relevant content, an appealing

format and accessibility, Hot from the Hive has

established itself as a welcomed resource for honey

news and information among our target readers –

foodservice professionals in the commercial and

non-commercial arenas. Each of the 2012 issues of

Hot from the Hive enjoyed impressive subscriber

engagement, exceeding industry averages for reader

open and read rates. At year-end, our holiday-timed

Winter 2012 issue topped out at 2,211 subscribers,

with an impressive 20.34% opens and a 15.07% read

rate. These figures exceeded the already well-

received Spring, Summer and Fall 2012 issues, which

netted no less than an 18.03% open rate and a 13.39

read rate (Spring 2012).

International Foodservice Editorial Council (IFEC)

IFEC is an annual conference for foodservice media

that provides an unmatched opportunity to connect

with key media and influencers and secure

placements in many of the top foodservice

publications. The conference allows attendees to

conduct one-on-one meetings with editors to pitch

story ideas, recipes, photos and other information

that may be suited to their editorial plans. The NHB

participated in the 2012 IFEC Conference in Nashville,

Tenn., Nov. 4-8, helping to maintain top-of-mind

awareness and relevance of honey among key

influencers in the foodservice industry.


INGREDIENT PUBLIC RELATIONS $225,978




IFEC (cont’d)

• Chef Showcase: Opryland Hotel’s Matt Foreman

(2011 Honey Summit alum) prepared two of the

audience favorites at the dinner/sampling event on

the conference’s opening night: Honey Braised

Short Rib with Honey Corn Cakes and Heirloom

Tomato Cappuccino with Honeyed Foam and

Sweet Basil Oil.

• Cocktail Reception: The NHB-sponsored honey

cocktail station was a hit at the Tuesday night

reception, quickly requiring the addition of a

second bartender to meet the demand. The

popular honey-inspired cocktails served that night

were the Blushing Bee and Honey Bee-jito.

Attendees were excited to take home honey

varietal sample packs and a limited number of

honey cocktail guides at the evening reception.

• Office Hours: NHB was represented in a total of 11

deskside editorial briefings (in addition to informal

networking with editors) to continue edifying

relationships and drive interest in featuring NHB

initiatives in future issues. The NHB met with the

following magazines: Plate, Flavor & the Menu, Restaurant Business, QSR Magazine, Food Management, Gold Medal Classroom, CSP Magazine, Nation’s Restaurant News, FSR Magazine (formerly Restaurant Management), Catersource, and Restaurant Hospitality.

The NHB’s participation at the 2012 IFEC conference

was a success, helping to keep honey top of mind as

an on-trend food and beverage ingredient. The NHB

continues to raise the bar each year for high-visibility

sponsor activities at this fundamental industry event.

Honey Baking Summit

The Honey Baking Summit, conducted September 26, 2012 in Chicago,

brought together nine of the most innovative bakers in the retail,

wholesale, foodservice and in-store segments for a daylong educational

and technical seminar about baking with honey. The goal of the seminar

was to spark innovation in new product development of breads, rolls,

cakes, pies and sweet goods made with honey.

The Honey Baking Summit was held at Kendall College, and in addition

to intensive educational and technical sessions, attendees also watched

baking demonstrations by Melina Kelson, Certified Master Baker and

Baking and Pastry Chef Instructor at Kendall College. To close the Honey

Baking Summit, attendees donned their bakery whites and developed a

variety of bakery foods made with honey.

In the post-event survey, the Honey Baking Summit received

overwhelmingly positive comments, with all attendees saying they would

recommend their colleagues attend a future Honey Baking Summit. In

addition, we received significant media exposure of the event. Editors

from Modern Baking, Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery and Bake magazines all

attended the event and covered it either online or in their magazines.

The Honey Baking Summit returned positive results in many areas, ranging from public relations and editorial

coverage to impacting honey usage among attendees. By keeping the event small, the NHB was able to have

earnest conversations with bakers about their perceptions of honey and usage patterns.


INGREDIENT PUBLIC RELATIONS (CONT’D)of ()


Advertising: Print and Online

The NHB made a significant impact on the food and

baking industries in 2012 by splitting its campaign

between online and in-print advertising, and targeting

each specific audience per the medium where they

get their message. Although print is becoming less

and less effective in this digital age, most large food

manufacturers and bakeries still consider trade

publications as their main source of information. The

NHB recognizes this, and ran print ads where they

would reach large manufacturers, and used online

advertising to target smaller retail bakers that do use

a variety of digital properties to learn and gather

information.

For print advertising, the NHB focused its efforts in

magazines that covered commercial bakeries and

food manufacturers. These large-scale, high-

production facilities still turn to trade publications for

their information, and the NHB covered the market

via Food Processing (8x), Baking & Snack (6x), Snack

Food & Wholesale Bakery (1x), Baking Buyer (1x) and

Food Product Design (1x).

Online advertising included the development of a

how-to video series that showcased the formulation

of seven bakery foods made with honey. The videos

were developed at Kendall College in Chicago with

Master Baker Melina Kelson. The videos were

broadcast over Sosland Publishing’s The Baking

Channel. The audience for this channel consists of

Sosland’s 31,000 registered subscribers with a

primary focus on all three segments of the retail

baking industry. The videos were promoted monthly

through an eNewsletter distributed to 18,000

subscribers.

The series of videos developed for the retail baking

audience and advertised on The Baking Channel

allowed the NHB to make a deep impact with viewers,

giving them a step-by-step guide on developing

bakery foods with honey. Ideas drive retail bakers,

and our video series provided quality and thorough

ideas.

Tradeshows

The NHB attended two events in 2012 in an effort to

network and increase its contacts in the baking, food

and beverage industries. The main goal of NHB’s

attendance at these events was to form relationships

with manufacturers in an effort to increase honey

usage in bakery, food and beverage products.

Natural Products Expo WestThe Natural Products West Expo in Anaheim,

California showcased 3,500 exhibitors and brought in

60,000 attendees. This is a great show for the NHB,

as it brings together manufacturers from all industries

that believe in natural, pure products. At the Natural

Products Expo West conference, we were able to

make several connections in the food, dairy and

beverage industries and confirm what manufacturers

are looking for in new product development

assistance, and the role honey played in today’s

natural food and beverage industries.

Food Evolution SummitThe Food Evolution Summit brought together some

of the leading baking, food and beverage

manufacturers in the industry in a small, intimate

setting where the main focus was on innovation. The

event consisted of a full-slate of presentations, plus

networking time. At the Food Evolution Summit, the

NHB again established direct contacts with some of

the leading food and beverage manufacturers and

detailed how honey can be used in future product

developments. Large manufactures keep new product

development efforts secretive, but we have remained

in touch with our contacts from this show and

continue to send them information.


INGREDIENT PUBLIC RELATIONS (CONT’D)of ()


Interactive

The NHB continued to develop and promote content

on its MadeWithHoney.com websites:

bakingwithhoney.com; snackingwithhoney.com;

candywithhoney.com; and dairywithhoney.com. Each

property was updated weekly with new product

information, trend stories, manufacturer profiles and

general honey information. In addition, the NHB also

launched a new site, www.BeveragesWithHoney.com

to serve the beverage industry with information

about incorporating honey into juices, teas, colas and

alcoholic beverages.

Bakers, food and beverage manufacturers often opt

to follow-the-leader instead of driving innovation on

their own accord. This is especially true in tough

economic times when Research & Development

budgets often are the first to get cut. The

MadeWithHoney.com websites provide the perfect

platform for manufacturers to see what’s going on in

the industry and read about specific instances of their

competitors developing and finding success with

products made with honey. The websites also give us

the perfect platform to promote honey through

valuable editorial content.

Research

The NHB worked with David Ropa on two research

projects to enhance the NHB’s technical capabilities

in the retail and wholesale segments of the baking

industry. The NHB solidified its baking industry

research by developing two projects designed to help

bakers address the most common questions they had

about using honey in bakery foods.

Research Project: Frequently Asked Questions

This project boosted NHB’s research capabilities by

developing a comprehensive Frequently Asked

Question guide that addressed the main challenges a

baker may encounter when incorporating honey into

bakery food formulas.

Research Project: Honey Substitution Chart

David Ropa reviewed and revised the current honey

substitution guides, including updating the sweetener

list and providing conversions for retail and specialty

wholesale bakeries. In addition, the research

consisted of developing formulas to show examples

of the substitution guides. The substitution guides

will prove invaluable well into the future as both

general guidelines and as specific formulaic

substitution guides in yeast-raised and chemically-

leavened dough.

The research developed will provide us the necessary

information to answer all potential baker questions,

whether technical, functional or from a marketing

perspective. This research was also used as a key

component of the Honey Baking Summit, as well as

the cornerstone to new technical information on the

BakingWithHoney.com website.

http://bakingwithhoney.com

http://dairywithhoney.com

http://candywithhoney.com

http://snackingwithhoney.com

http://bakingwithhoney.com

IN-HOUSE ACTIVITIES $54,870

Many activities are implemented and managed

solely by NHB staff, without agency involvement or

costs. These activities may crossover into some of

the above areas, but they are managed internally

and referred to as “In-House” programs.

BlogHer Conference

BlogHer is the largest blogging conference in the U.S.,

bringing together people with different blogging

expertise and genres. From mommy bloggers to food

bloggers, beauty bloggers to coupon bloggers, there

are more than 3,000 attendees each year and those

numbers are steadily growing. The 2012 annual

BlogHer conference was held in New York City,

August 3rd - 4th.

While exhibiting at the annual conference, the NHB

spoke to attendees about the benefits of honey and

its versatility. This conference is the NHB’s ideal

platform for reaching consumers, because the

audience is so diverse. Many attendees commented

on how honey is a staple in their home and we were

pleased to educate them on the different ways to use

honey. The NHB also hosted a honey varietal tasting

at the booth, where attendees could see and taste

the difference in varietals. The varietal tasting

included three different honeys ranging in color and

flavor. It was a huge hit with attendees and a great

opportunity for staff to plug the versatility messages.

At the NHB booth, staff handed out promotional

materials branded with the NHB Honey One logo and

www.honey.com, honey sticks and many NHB

marketing brochures. In addition, a 6-foot standing

cut out of the honey bear was stationed at the booth

to draw the attention of the attendees. A few

convention-goers even took their picture with the

honey bear and shared them on their social media

platforms.

Summer Grilling CO-OP Satellite Media Tour

The NHB participated in a co-op satellite media tour

(SMT) to reinforce honey’s versatility concerning

summer grilling. The SMT was held on June 1, 2012 in

order to kick-off the summer grilling season, as well

as offer different food and recipe ideas that

incorporate honey. For the SMT, the NHB worked with

a production company A-1 Broadcast, who handled

the coordination of the spokesperson, as well as

pitched the story angle and booked the television and

radio stations for the tour. The broadcast was live

from Atlanta, GA.

A-1 Broadcast enlisted the help of Food Network chef

and spokesperson Jim O’Conner. Jim shows his love

of food not just on air, but also in his personal life. He

enjoys discovering the flavor of America at events

such as the Hope Watermelon Festival, the National

Hard Crab Derby Competition and the Chuckwagon

Cook-Off. He also enjoys acting in commercials,

television shows and feature films, which makes him a

wonderful and engaging spokesperson. Some of the

great honey tips that he shared included how

versatile honey was in many different types of dishes

and how honey can be a secret ingredient when

grilling, by helping to lock in moisture to grilled

meats.

The NHB worked with food stylist Whitney Kemp to

display two separate honey dishes on the set, which

included the Sweet Spicy Salmon with Honeyed

Mango Salsa and the Blazing Bronco Burgers with

Smoking Chipotle Honey Sauce. Since it was a co-op

SMT, A-1 Broadcast booked two other sponsors for

the tour which were Sears, featuring the Kenmore

Grill and Sensa, the weight loss aid. There were more

than 296 total airings including television, radio and

online with impressions reaching nearly 5.96 million.



Camp BlogAway

In early 2012, the NHB sponsored and presented at

Camp BlogAway, an intimate food blogging

conference located in Angelus Oaks, CA. The NHB

spoke to attendees about honey, how it’s made, its

versatility and offered them different ways to use

honey in their cooking and baking, as well as cooking

and substitution tips.

The conference included meal items in which honey

was the star ingredient, including honey custard

french toast, honey blueberry syrup, orange almond

honey muffins and stewed fruit with honey and

cloves. Finally, the NHB hosted a meet and greet

table in which staff held a honey tasting and

distributed honey educational and recipe brochures.

In the honey tasting, the NHB showcased several of

the more than 300 honey varietals found in the

United States to demonstrate how different the

honeys can range in both flavor and color. This

provided a platform for the attendees to share which

honeys are their favorite, while also allowing staff to

introduce them to new ones that they might not have

been aware of, as well.

Social Media

The NHB’s social media efforts were productive in

2012. Complete with a Facebook page, Twitter profile,

Pinterest boards, YouTube channel, blog and email

blast, the NHB was in full social media swing the

entire year. The chosen social media networks were

carefully thought out to generate a widespread

awareness of honey and its many uses and benefits.

The NHB’s social media presence had its most

successful year in 2012. The NHB reached the most

consumers and foodservice professionals to date.

Staff began the year by creating a plan with highly

defined goals, objectives and not only did NHB staff

meet all the goals set forth, they were exceeded on

every social media platform.

NHB staff and its agencies have worked diligently to

promote the social media sites on the various honey

websites (www.honey.com, Made with Honey sites,

etc.) at trade shows and marketing events, which has

added to the steadily increasing numbers. The broad

range of topics discussed and/or mentioned on the

social media sites has encouraged more fan

participation and interest. The honey facts and

questions have been not only interesting to our

audience, but also garnered a great deal of

engagement and participation.

In a two year time frame, NHB’s pages have

generated more than 6,825 Facebook fans 3,025

Twitter followers and 922 followers on our newest

Social Media platform, Pinterest.

Incorporating new content into the blog, Honey Feast

and Featured Recipe, the NHB is giving readers a

reason to return to our site more often. This has led

to an increase in traffic throughout 2012. Furthermore,

with the additional giveaways that NHB staff

conducted throughout the year, this has also led to an

increase in readership, as well as interaction on our

SM platforms.


IN-HOUSE ACTIVITIES (CONT’D)of ()




PRODUCTION RESEARCH $278,070

DEVELOPMENT OF HONEY PURITY TEST $73,550

OTHER RESEARCH $34,257

MARKET RESEARCH & DATA COLLECTION $50,958

Five percent of our estimated assessment revenues are committed to “production research”, or research related

to the production of honey prior to packing. It includes studies on honey bees, maintaining the health of honey

bees, pest and disease control, and other management aspects of beekeeping, honey production, and honey

bees. In recent years our production research has focused specifically on maintaining the health of honey bees.

Expenditures in 2012 were for ongoing projects from previous years, as well as for new projects started in 2012.

New research contracted for in 2012 totaled $238,783. A list of bee research projects funded over the years by

the National Honey Board is available on the Honey Board’s website at http://www.honey.com/honey-industry/

honey-and-bee-research/honey-bee-research/.

In 2011 the NHB contracted with two laboratories to develop a test or tests that can identify a product as pure

honey with its inherent characteristics and functional properties, and can help differentiate it from honey pretenders

that have a negative impact on the honey industry. Both projects extended into 2012, with final payments made in

2012. As a result of this project, new honey tests were made available to the industry at a lower cost.

Evaluating the glycemic effects of honey in comparison to sucrose

and high fructose corn syrup. This project will continue into 2013. $22,000

Comparison of Vitamin, Mineral and Antioxidant Levels in Raw and Processed Honey. $12,257

Consumer Use & Attitude Study: This survey is conducted every few years to determine how honey is being

consumed and to understand the demographics and other factors of those purchasing and using honey. The

results of the survey are used to help guide marketing program decisions.

Data Collection includes retail honey sales data collected by Nielsen, and sales of honey by major market

category (retail, bulk, or foodservice) as reported by honey packers on a limited basis.

ResearchFor the National Honey Board, “research” means any type of test, study, or analysis

designed to advance the image, desirability, use, marketability, production, product

development, or quality of honey and honey products. It includes scientific research

as well as market research. Scientific research generally includes studies to improve

our knowledge of the composition, functional properties and health-related

applications of honey, or product development to find new uses for honey.

http://www.honey.com/honey-industry/honey-and-bee-research/honey-bee-research/

Budget Actual Explanatory Comments

Cash in bank, beginning of year $ 890,822 $ 890,822

Receipts: Assessments - domestic honey 1,100,000 1,189,692 28% of assessments received

Assessments - imported honey 2,800,000 3,058,173 72% of assessments received

Merchandise sales 22,300 30,000

Investment income 200 543

Total receipts 3,922,500 4,278,407

Disbursements: Marketing:

General consumer 1,016,892 947,975

Hispanic consumer 450,226 434,738

Minor League Baseball 355,000 355,000

Food service 403,090 391,548

Baking & ingredient industry 236,646 225,978

In-house public relations programs 56,312 54,870

Other 32,968 32,433

Total marketing disbursements 2,551,134 2,442,541

Research:

Other research 104,000 34,257

Production research - 2012 232,000 161,716

Production research - 2011 125,104 116,354

Production research - 2010 — — 5% of assessments was budgeted & committed;

unspent balance for 2009-2012 will be disbursed

in subsequent years as projects are completed.

Production research - 2009 8,590 —

Honey purity testing 76,550 73,550

Market research & data collection 61,000 50,958

Scientific & technical consulting 30,000 26,917

Other 9,500 1,739

Total research disbursements 646,744 465,491

Industry Services:

Fulfillment material 68,130 48,165

Fulfillment shipping 22,600 28,490

Crisis communication 30,000 21,178

Industry meetings 5,000 4,525

Total industry services disbursements 125,730 102,357

Emerging Opportunities 50,000 42,982

Other:

Personnel 781,212 709,037

Office expenses 86,600 53,035

Facilities expense 102,070 96,029

Professional services 17,100 14,438

Travel 23,800 21,476

Board meetings 69,132 48,170

Federal fees 154,800 78,442

Equipment purchases 5,000 4,393

Total other disbursements 1,239,714 1,025,020

Total disbursements 4,613,322 4,078,391 Incomplete projects from 2012 were carried over into

2013. The 2013 budget includes $231,500 of funds

committed to completion of these projects.

Cash in bank, end of year $ 200,000 $ 1,090,839 Fully collateralized in accordance with

USDA requirements.

CASH SUMMARY 2012

National Honey Board Treasurer’s ReportCALENDAR YEAR 2012 ACTIVITY


Administration & Depreciation $558,074 13.7%

Emerging Opportunities $42,982 1.1%

Program Area 2 $228,821 5.3%

Program Area 1 $496,397 12.2%


Program Area 1: RESEARCH

• Developcomprehensiveknowledgeofhoney’s

composition, functional properties and

health-related benefits.

• Advancescientificinterestinhoneyresearch

and applications.

• Conductmarketresearchand/orcollectrelevant

sales and trends data.

• Supportthehoneyindustryineffortstomaintain

honey quality.

• Guidedbymarket-drivenand/orscience-based

research, pursue product development for the purpose

of finding or creating new and increased uses of honey.

• Conductresearchdealingwithhoneybeecolony

management to help producers maintain colony health

while allowing for the production of quality honey.

Program Area 2: INDUSTRY SERVICES

• Providepracticalmethodsandtoolsforhoney

industry members to capitalize on NHB research

and honey promotional programs.

• Informandeducatethehoneyindustryabout

National Honey Board programs and activities and

changes in the regulatory environment affecting

the honey industry.

• Fosterindustryrelationshipsanddevelopment.

• Anticipatepotentialthreats,createandimplement

programs to protect honey’s pure, natural image.

Program Area 3: MARKETING & PROMOTIONS

• Increaseconsumptionandpurchasefrequency

of honey using food and non-food strategies.

• Increasetheuseofhoneyin

foodservice operations.

• MaintainandincreaseU.S.honey’smarket

status in key export markets.

• Increasehoney’suseasaningredientwithfood,

beverage and non-food manufacturers.

EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES

• Provideaflexiblesourceoffundsforuseat

the discretion of the Chief Executive Officer

to respond to issues unanticipated in the

annual budget which arise during the

course of the year.

ADMINISTRATION & DEPRECIATION

• Officeadministrativepayrolland

payroll overhead.

• Officeadministrativeexpenses(supplies,

postage, insurance, rent and utilities,

financial audit, legal)

• BoardMeetings

• Federaloversightfees,U.S.Customscollection

fee, Office of General Counsel fee.

• Capitalassets


BY PROGRAM AREA

(Amounts include indirect costs)

2012 PROGRAM AREAS

Program Area 3

$2,770,971 67.9%

To ensure accurate and reliable reporting of the National Honey Board’s financial results, an annual independent

audit is conducted by a certified public accounting firm chosen by the Board. The audit is conducted in

accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and the standards applicable to financial audits

contained in Government Audit Standards, issued by the United States Comptroller General.

The audit of the 2012 financial statements was completed in March 2012 and was presented by the auditor to

the Board at their April meeting. The audit resulted in an unqualified audit opinion, as well as audit assurance

that the Board is in compliance with investment guidelines established by the Agricultural Marketing Service of

the USDA. Copies of the audit report and complete financial statements are available from the National Honey

Board office. Call (800) 553-7162 to request a copy.

The Balance Sheet (Exhibit A) and the Statement of Revenue, Expenses and Changes in Fund Balance (Exhibit

B) from the audited financial statements are included in this report.

To ensure that the members of the National Honey Board are aware of the Board’s most current financial

results, monthly financial reports and budget variance reports are prepared by the Board’s staff. This

information is regulary reviewed by staff project managers and Board members.

Submitted by Nancy Gamber Olcott, Secretary/Treasurer

May 13, 2013_______________________________________________ _______________________

Nancy Gamber Olcott Date



AssetsCURRENT ASSETS

Cash on hand and in banks

Prepaid expenses

Fulfillment inventory

Deposits on leases

Total current assets

PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

Computer equipment

Office machines and equipment

Images portfolio

Less accumulated depreciation

Net property and equipment

TOTAL ASSETS

Liabilites and Fund BalanceCURRENT LIABILITIES

Payroll liabilities

Total current liabilities

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

FUND BALANCE

Unrestricted

Restricted – budgetary reserve

FUND BALANCE

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND FUND BALANCE

December 31,

2012 2011

$ 1,091,138 $ 891,123

13,834 17,104

31,616 63,421

9,489 9,489

1,146,077 981,137

16,800 12,407

9,726 13,664

50,000 50,000

76,526 76,071

(56,022) (45,513)

20,504 30,558

$ 1,166,581 $ 1,011,695

$ 9,477 $ 8,386

9,477 8,386

957,104 803,309

200,000 200,000

1,157,104 1,003,309

$ 1,166,581 $ 1,011,695

NATIONAL HONEY BOARD BALANCE SHEET – MODIFIED CASH BASIS

Exhibit A


Revenues Assessments

Investment income

Other (merchandise sales, donations)

Total revenues

Expenses Administrative expenses:

Administrative (Office)

Administrative (Board)

Administrative (Federal)

Total administrative expenses

Program expenses:

Advertising, public relations, and research

Industry service and support

Emerging opportunities

Total program expenses

Provision for depreciation and amortization

Loss on disposal of assets

Total expenses

EXCESS OF REVENUES OVER (UNDER) EXPENDITURES

FUND BALANCE, beginning of year

Change in inventory included in industry services

FUND BALANCE, end of year

December 31,

2012 2011

$ 4,247,865 $ 4,043,494

543 440

30,000 26,056

4,278,408 4,069,990

431,432 419,778

48,170 42,862

78,442 151,151

558,044 613,791

3,267,368 3,476,419

209,967 228,821

42,982 3,697

3,520,317 3,708,937

13,856 15,098

591 107

4,092,808 4,337,924

185,600 (267,934)

1,003,309 1,264,971

(31,805) 6,272

$ 1,157,104 $ 1,003,309

NATIONAL HONEY BOARD — STATEMENT OF REVENUE, EXPENSES AND CHANGES IN FUND BALANCE — MODIFIED CASH BASIS

Exhibit B

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.


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