It is confirmed that the campaign has largely contributed to the growing interest in honey among Poles. As many as 93% of people familiar with the campaign claim that are now more likely to buy honey or other bee product.

About the campaign

The campaign "Zycie miodem słodzone” ( Honey sweetened life), which was organized as a part of an European initiative promoting agricultural products in given countries, was launched on 6th of February 2008. The budget of the campaign was estimated for 683 266 €.

The main goal of the campaign was to encourage Poles to eat honey regularly and not only seasonally. Actions that were taken stressed the taste and nutritive values of honey, as well as, broadened the knowledge of the consumers when it comes to the beneficial properties of bee products.

The wide range of campaign actions included the involvement of television, the Internet and women's press. A special website www.zyciemiodemslodzone.info, was activated, which as regularly expanded platform became a kind of a digest full of knowledge about honey and its usage in cuisine and beauty treatments.

The campaign was cumulated in in two periods: the first one in 2008 and the second one in 2009. Apart from media and PR initiative, a great number of posters were placed in shops throughout the country. Their task was to attract the consumers to buy honey and bee products. By and large, the campaign was received with enormous interest by media and beekeepers.

"The campaign appeared to be highly appreciated by the beekeeping community, especially because it was the first such an initiative in Poland. Many of my colleagues noticed a visible rise in interest in honey, in particular its less known kinds. Honey became fashionable not only as a comestible product but also as a beauty cosmetic" - said the president of the Beekeepers Association, Zbigniew Pecak. 

Poles and honey

Today, almost in one in four households in Poland honey is consumed at least as often as once a week, and 7% of Poles claim to eat honey every day. Honey is mostly appreciated by women. The most popular kinds of honey are mixed flower honey and linden honey, the remaining ones are rather obscure. Poles still prefer to eat honey with bread or as a substitute for sugar when sweetening beverages (70% of survey recipients). However, the growing number of consumers experiments with adding honey to various dishes and sauces. We are more likely to have honey for breakfast (38%) and when we feel a bit under the weather, especially in autumn and winter time (52%).

Difficulties on beekeeping market

In spite of the fact that more and more Poles are more willing to reach for honey, the problem is that soon there can be not enough honey. Some kinds of honey like buckwheat honey are already hard to buy. Bee diseases, unfriendly weather conditions or decreasing number of beekeepers cause honey production to be less and less profitable. "The CCD phenomenon and difficulties in beekeeping branch results not only in drop in honey production but also can lead to to the global breakdown in the agriculture. Scientists claim that 80% of cultivated crops require bees pollination. That is why, we cannot afford to ignore the problems of beekeepers. We are obliged to find the solution as the time is running out", said Zbigniew Pecak and he added " CCD is the alarming signal for us, humans. Without bees world will not be able to sustain itself." 

Press information - 30th September 2009
www.zyciemiodemslodzone.info