Why Is Honey in Bear Jars?
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Hyvee packages honey in bear-shaped jars with a label that helps explain the jar shape.
Why is Honey Bottled in Bear-Shaped Jars?
"...out of curiosity, why is honey sometimes bottled in bear-shaped jars? Doesn't make sense to me..." - Harold
Hi Harold, I used to wonder about that myself. As a fan of Winnie the Pooh, I did understand there is a special affinity between bears and honey. Well, at least one particular bear and his special honey jar.
According to Citizendium, the practice started in 1957 when Ralph Gamber, future president of the Dutch Gold Honey company, was looking for a unique honey container and reasoned that a bear likes honey, why not a bear of honey.
That's not set in stone, though. Edward Rachins applied for a patent of a bear-shaped bottle several years before Gamber. It was Gamber's company, however, that popularized the honeybear-shaped jar.
Apparently a successful packaging idea. A survey conducted in 1995 showed that some 15.5 percent of the honey sold was packaged in such bottles.
Honey bears showed up at one of our state beekeeping association meetings.
And did you know the honeybear jar has a name? In the fall of 2007, Dutch Gold held a naming contest for the honeybear and the Gamber family selected "Nugget" from among the entries!
