A new twist on an age old beverage presents a sweet opportunity for Ontario beekeepers.

Mead, a wine made from honey dates back to medieval times. The new twist is a combination of mead and fruit juice which is called mead melomel.

In 1995 the Trafalgar Brewing Company in Oakville, Ontario began supplying pear flavoured mead melomel to the Ontario Renaissance Festival, an annual celebration of medieval times held near Milton, Ontario. By 2003, mead melomel sales at the festival grew by almost 400 percent and Trafalgar Brewing responded to consumer demand by distributing their product in Ontario.

Unlike traditional mead that is honey flavoured and sweet, fruit-based mead melomels are dry and slightly carbonated and are sold as alcoholic cooler beverages.

From 1998 to 2002, alcoholic cooler sales in Ontario surged from $69 million to $145 million. The Trafalgar Brewing Company makes the only mead melomel coolers listed by Canadian liquor agencies. Recent sales of limited quantities in select Ontario Beer stores have exceeded the company’s expectations.

“Coolers continue to be hot with consumers and mead melomel coolers made with Ontario honey could capture up to five percent of the Ontario market in a little over three years,” says Michael Arnold, Trafalgar Brewing Company President.

With support from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) through the Agricultural Adaptation Council’s (AAC) CanAdapt Value Chain Initiative Program, the Trafalgar Brewing Company and a host of partners have undertaken a project to position Ontario as the prime source of mead melomel coolers.

“This is a classic example of a value chain initiative,” says Martin Gooch, AAC Value Chains Facilitator. “Seventeen partners including Ontario beekeepers, researchers, processors, a brewery, marketing experts and support services are working collaboratively to produce and market a new niche product.”

Meeting Trafalgar’s demand will require 300 tons of Ontario honey a year, worth $1.5 million. To meet that demand Ontario beekeepers will have to increase honey production by ten percent.

“The timing couldn’t be better for Ontario’s honey industry,” says Tom Congdon, President of the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association. “A number of production problems have plagued beekeepers in recent years and Ontario honey production has declined.”

The CanAdapt Value Chain project includes helping Ontario beekeepers to set up meaderies to make mead on their farms. The mead will then be delivered to the Trafalgar Brewing Company to be blended with fruit juices.

“By establishing meaderies on their farms, beekeepers can also enter into the agri-tourism business. This could become a new farm gate industry providing additional income for Ontario beekeepers,” says Congdon.

Members of the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association will assist in the development of a quality assurance program for on-farm production of mead and will help producers to optimize their honey production.

“The benefits of this CanAdapt Value Chain project will reach well beyond the project’s partners,” says Tom Smyth, AAC Value Chains Initiative Committee Chairperson. “Increasing the number of bee hives to produce more honey will result in better pollination of field crops across Ontario.”

A marketing strategy for mead melomel coolers will target young, affluent adults in Ontario who are interested in a natural alternative to spirits, wine and beer. Marketing activities will eventually reach more than one million Canadians by the end of 2007.

The AAC is a non-profit coalition of 58 agricultural, agri-business and rural organizations dedicated to providing financial resources to assist Ontario’s agri-food sector and rural communities to remain competitive, grow and maintain their economic strength. The AAC receives its funding through Ontario’s share of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development fund. To learn more about the AAC please visit our Web site at www.adaptcouncil.org. 

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For more information contact:
Nadine Buitenhuis
Communications Coordinator
Agricultural Adaptation Council
Phone: 519-822-7554
Fax: 519-822-6248
Nadine's e-mail