Betterbee’s all-natural candy is sold by the pound in five varieties: Honey, Honey-Lemon, Honey-Pomegranate, Honey-Apple and Assorted. There are approximately 115 pieces per pound.

Betterbee is a wholesale and retail beekeeping supply business located in Greenwich, N.Y. Its three current owners Chris, Joe and Jack have been beekeepers or involved with bees for for more than 25 years. Betterbee was founded on a Bob and Margaret Stevens’ family farm in 1979.

Ingredients: Honey, Evaporated Cane Juice, Brown Rice Syrup

Want to see what other products are made with honey?

• Honees Natural Candies
• Dark Chocolate Salted Honey Caramel
• Lake Champlain Honey Caramels

The spring of 2013 has brought a bevy of new products and trends to the honey product world. Gluten-free products and nuts, even though they represent both ends of the allergy spectrum, are largely in demand with consumers. Three of our favorite products of April serve as tasty representations.

1. KIND Bars

Making a showing at both Expo West and the Dr. Oz show, where nutrition expert Heidi Skolnik recommended the bars, the entire KIND line includes honey, whole nuts, spices and fruits. A new Yale study showed that snacking on two KIND bars a day helps to suppress your appetite and reduce overeating—sounds like an ideal snack to us.

2. Barenjager Honey & Bourbon Liqueur

Our office taste test won us over, making this product No. 2 on our list. The taste of whiskey married with the smooth sweetness of honey made for a great drink for any occasion.

3. Kinnikinnick Foods S’Moreables Graham Style Crackers

Not only are these gluten-free, they are wheat-free, dairy-free and casein-free—a great comfort to know America’s favorite campfire snack can be enjoyed by all.

Sweet-toothed consumers are looking for all-natural sweetening alternatives in their candy, and according to CandyIndustry.com, sweetener suppliers are listening.

Philippe Levresse, head of Roquette’s Confectionery Technical Services, says that the top nutritional claim for new confectionary products is sugar-free. Reduced-calorie confections also are high on the demand list.

Sweeteners such as honey are being used as alternatives in candy, especially chocolate. Levresse says that even though naturally sweetened confections still are a niche market, it’s definitely a growing one.  Since honey has a long history as an all-natural sweetener, it’s an easy choice to add to candy.

According to a National Honey Board survey of 423 consumers, 44% said they have bought lozenges sweetened with honey, and 27% would buy honey sweetened lozenges in the future. Hard candy ranks a quick second at 24%, but has more room for growth with 36% of those surveyed saying they would buy hard candies sweetened with honey.

Filling the body with natural energy, honey has 17 grams of carbohydrates per tablespoon, which makes it an ideal way to satisfy candy lovers’ sweet cravings.