We Put This Small-Batch Raw Honey on Everything and Here’s Why

We’re committed to raising the bar for your favorite pantry essentials—and that includes the irresistible golden superfood, honey. We’ve added three small-batch raw honeys to our Thrive Market branded products line: Non-GMO Avocado Honey, Organic Wildflower Honey, and Organic Creamy Highland Honey.

Like wine, each 100 percent raw, unfiltered, and unpasteurized honey has a distinct flavor, color, and texture. Take our Thrive Market Avocado Honey, which is made by bees that gather nectar exclusively from avocado trees in Southern California and Mexico. Its flavor is dark and rich, like molasses, and it’s absolutely delicious on oatmeal, yogurt, and pancakes.

But it’s not just taste and texture that makes these honeys extraordinary—all three honeys are ethically sourced under sustainable beekeeping practices. More about that below.

A Healthy Hive = Superior Honey

To bring our members the highest-quality honey, we “source directly from beekeepers who are dedicated to ensuring that the health of the hive is the number-one value,” explains Jeremiah McElwee, Thrive Market’s Chief Merchandising Officer.

While a portion of our honey is ethically and sustainably sourced from hives in sunny Southern California, we source additional 100 percent raw and unfiltered honey from local beekeepers in Mexico and Argentina.

No matter where they’re located, all of our beekeepers are committed to protecting the health of the hives they tend. When pulling honey from the hive, our beekeepers make sure to leave enough honey in the hive for the bees. Instead of using harsh chemical treatments to control the mites that often plague beehives, our beekeepers use only organic forms of mite control. They also pay their workers a living wage.

And while most commercial beekeepers supplement their honey bees’ diet in winter using high-fructose corn syrup, our beekeepers take a healthier approach. During the winter months when the bees are not making honey, our California beekeepers feed their honey bees non-GMO cane sugar water, which they supplement with essential oils and amino acid boosters. Why? They’re good for the bees’ gut health and digestive system.

But it’s not just the beekeepers doing the hard work. Our honey bees must visit more than two million flower blossoms and fly more than 55,000 miles to make just one pound of honey, which is the amount in one jar of Thrive Market Raw Honey.

Why Raw Honey Is Nature’s Sweetest Superfood

Maybe you’ve heard that raw, unfiltered, and unpasteurized honey is better for you than processed honey—but why?

Most conventional supermarket honeys are overheated, pasteurized, and ultra-filtered, which destroys the valuable nutrients and antioxidants inside the honey. It can also be adulterated, which means it has been mixed with an inferior and less expensive substance, like high-fructose corn syrup. Conventional honey can also be contaminated with chemicals or pesticides.

Thrive Market Avocado Honey, Wildflower Honey, and Creamy Highland Honey, however, are 100 percent raw, unfiltered, unpasteurized, and they have a host of health benefits. Raw honey has over 5,000 live digestive enzymes, it has prebiotic and probiotic properties, it’s loaded with antioxidants and phytonutrients, it has over 26 vitamins and minerals, and it has all of the essential amino acids. It’s also known to have antibacterial, antimicrobial, and antifungal properties, which means it may help soothe and heal wounds.

Another fun fact: There’s a second superfood inside Thrive Market raw honey—pollen! While collecting nectar from flowers, the bees pick up pollen, which is high in protein and amino acids. The bees then bring the pollen back to the hive, where it finds its way into the honey. For this reason, consuming local raw honey may give you some resistance to your seasonal pollen allergies. Double the superfood, double the fun.

So, Which Honey Should You Try First?

If you can’t wait to order a jar (or three) of our raw Thrive Market Honeys, we can’t say we blame you. But which unique honey is right for you?

Non-GMO Raw Avocado Honey:

This raw, unfiltered honey has a dark color and rich, nutty flavor—almost like molasses. It’s a single-varietal honey, which means it’s predominantly made from the nectar of avocado flower blossoms that grow in California and Mexico. Try drizzling it over yogurt, oatmeal, or pancakes.

Organic Raw Wildflower Honey:

You might taste notes of citrus in this raw golden honey, which is made from the nectar of organic wildflowers that grow in Mexico and Argentina. It’s versatile, vibrant, and can be used in everything from tea to homemade granola.

Organic Raw Creamy Highland Honey:

This might be the creamiest, most luxurious honey you’ve ever tasted. Spread this mildly sweet yellow honey on toast and fresh fruit. The nectar for this honey is collected from the flowers of bidens pilosa (or black-jack) plants that grow in the highlands of Mexico. (Fun fact: Our Creamy Highland Honey tested off-the-charts for antibacterial activity. In a lab report testing total antibacterial activity, rated on a scale of 0% to 9.5% w/v phenols, our honey clocked in at 21% w/v phenols.)

Now’s the time to get your fingers a little sticky and drizzle, spoon, and spread our Thrive Market Honeys on everything.