The research team of the TOP4HoneyChains project – Ewa W. Ziemba, S. Jarka, A. Karmańska, and Ewa W. Maruszewska – has published the results of one phase of their study in the prestigious industry journal Pszczelarstwo. The article, titled “Honey Labeling as a Means of Communication with Customers”, presents the views of beekeeping experts on the role of labels in informing consumers – both in the context of current legal regulations and marketing communication.
The study involved 30 experts, 67% of whom were beekeepers. The remaining respondents included representatives from the food processing industry, the scientific community, and public administration. The analysis revealed the important role labels play as a source of trust and product knowledge.
The study’s findings provide beekeepers with valuable practical insights, helping them design labels that not only meet legal requirements but also effectively communicate the value of honey while fostering transparency and trust in customer relationships.
The project team shares the belief that a practical layer should be accompanied by a theoretical one, in which solutions and recommendations for practice are solidly grounded. The publication reflects the realization of the idea of collaboration between science and practice, as promoted by S. Sudoł:
"Science detached from practice would be merely art for art's sake, but a practitioner without support from a scientific view of the nature of reality is helpless in the face of changing conditions."
The TOP4HoneyChains Project: A Trustworthy and Sustainable Open Platform for Smart Honey Value Chains is funded by the National Centre for Research and Development under the ERA-NET CO-FUND ICT-AGRI-FOOD initiative (2022), implemented as part of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 framework programme (grant agreement no. 862665, 2023–2026, PLN 938,500).
The goal of the ERA-NET CO-FUND ICT-AGRI-FOOD initiative is to develop more transparent agri-food systems, which, through the use of digital technologies, increase the transparency of the food value chain for consumers and other stakeholders.
We invite you to learn more about the project and its ongoing activities on the project’s website, available in English.
Congratulations to the team, and we encourage you to read the article!
Join us