Honey consumption in 2024 saw year-over-year per-capita growth of 25% (from 1.6 to 2 pounds per person), according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service report released in July 2025. Total honey consumption in the U.S. reached an all-time high of 668.6 million pounds that year. Some of the drivers of this upward trend include the product’s positioning as a “super food,” or at least as a better-for-you option than sugar as a sweetener; its role in some global and fusion cuisines; its versatility as an ingredient; and its increased share of mind due to news about plummeting bee populations.
The biggest factor, however, is Gen Z’s love of all things sweet-and-spicy (or “swicy”), with hot honey leading the way. This formulation — honey infused with chili peppers and vinegar — has become common in restaurants and consumer products over the past several years. More than 11% of all U.S. restaurant menus include a hot honey offering, according to Datassential, which tracks 230% growth in menu usage over the past four years. Seventy-five percent of U.S. consumers are aware of hot honey, the researcher says, and 39% say they like or love it.
Given these trends, a handful of honey brands, hot and otherwise, are jumping into brand-extension licensing and collaborations. Not only are they capitalizing on the growing consumer demand and awareness, but they are helping their licensees and other partners stand out in an increasingly crowded market for honey-related products by giving them a strong brand name to latch onto. A few notable examples:
- Mike’s Hot Honey, founded in 2010, is the leader in outbound brand extension, by far. In fact, its many collaborations and licensing deals over the past few years are credited with helping drive the popularity of hot honey in the marketplace. In 2025 alone, it paired with consumer goods companies including Smithfield Foods (bacon), AriZona (canned teas), Snak Club (candy), Tillamook (jerkies), and Hello Fresh (s’more kit). It also paired with a plethora of restaurants in 2025, for new products, the return of old favorites, and expansions of existing deals. They included a variety of pizza chains (Marco’s Pizza, Papa Murphy’s, and Sbarro); Red Robin (chicken sandwich, pizza, and wings), Peach Cobbler Factory (churros, shakes, and ice cream), Taco Bell (chicken nuggets), Ziggi’s (latte), KFC (a variety of menu items), Hissho Sushi (special salmon roll), and Juice It Up! (add-on for acai bowls, smoothies, and juices). In addition, the company collaborated with a couple of non-foods marketers, including Cedric Mitchell for a hand-blown glass honey decanter and Burt’s Bees for lip balm.
- In January, Sioux Honey Cooperative, which markets its farmer-members’ honey under the nearly 70-year-old Sue Bee brand, announced it had signed IMC Licensing to help it expand into co-branded products featuring real honey. Targeted categories include food and beverage, alcohol, personal care, and home goods. (Sue Bee offers a hot honey, but its plans extend across all of its products and flavors.)
- Sweet Harvest Foods, parent company of Nature Nate’s, also known as Nate’s Honey, has participated in a variety of partnerships in recent years. It leans more toward marketing and promotions than licensing or collaboration deals, but in 2023 it capitalized on the hot honey trend by pairing with Diamond of California for Hot Honey Snack Walnuts. It has also created a number of limited-edition smoothie flavors containing its honey with L.A. upscale grocer Erewhon, for which it supplies honey for the smoothie bar. Its exclusive smoothie recipes are typically in collaboration with celebrities; in the latest example, it partnered in October with model and culinary influencer Nara Smith on an exclusive offering. Separately, in 2025, it worked with Lipton for a marketing partnership pairing its honey with Lipton’s teas, implemented through influencer partnerships, social media ads, and a social media giveaway, as well as in-store and digital displays. Nate’s, a leading player that produces 100% pure, raw, and unfiltered honey, has similarly partnered with other brands whose products go well with honey, including Atoria’s Family Bakery, Farmer’s Gin, Mother Earth Vinegar, spice and extract company Watkins, Yes! Apples, and more.
Beyond honey brands, other types of IP owners and collaborators have also entered the honey-infused product space. In 2025, former soccer star and now consumer products entrepreneur David Beckham co-launched a brand of honey-based fruit snack, BeeUp, in flavors including Very Berry and Tropical Mix, fueled by his personal interests in beekeeping and natural sources of nutritional energy. And, last September, premium beauty brand Gisou paired with French pastry chef Cedric Grolet for a Paris Fashion Week offering of three limited-edition pastries featuring Mirsalehi honey, inspired by Gisou’s new lip oil shades. Mirsalehi honey comes from Gisou founder and influencer Negin Mirsalehi’s family’s beekeeping operation and is a foundation of her cosmetics and hair care products.
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