The Brands That May Be Behind Costco's Fan-Favorite Kirkland Honey

On the list of the best Costco grocery items to buy, you might not have given honey a second thought, but you probably should. The warehouse grocer wins rave reviews for its honey products, of which there are several. As of this writing, Costco shoppers in the United States and Canada had a plethora of Kirkland honey options, including wildflower honey, 100% pure liquid Canadian honey, and even a three-pack of the sweet stuff packaged in bear bottles. It's no surprise that Costco partners with big-name manufacturers to create its outstanding private-label goods, and honey is no exception. But who makes the stuff? While there are multiple types of Kirkland honey sold at Costco, and we don't have a source for every single one, we do know a couple of likely brands behind some of their beloved products.

In Canada, Bee Maid may be behind (bee-hind?) the Canadian liquid honey. Bee Maid is a huge co-op of some 300 beekeepers that delivers unadulterated Canadian honey. When it comes to at least one type of American honey — sold as "raw, unfiltered honey" — there's no confusion about its origin. According to The Costco Connection (by way of MoneyWise), Rice's Honey is one of the suppliers for the product, which tries to lean heavily on local beekeepers. It's worth noting that the labeling of many Costco products gives some hints as to their origins. Kirkland Signature wildflower honey, for instance, is labeled as having come from Argentina. There are many types of honey, all with different origins, and it seems true that Costco's honey has a similar diversity of sources.

A Reddit thread dedicated to Canadian Costco got on the subject of adulterated vs. authentic honey, and the wide-reaching consensus was that Costco's Kirkland honey was not only the real deal but a very good value as well. On another forum where pricing was discussed, some users reported that Costco's raw honey was about ⅓ the cost of a similar product from a local farmer's market. If you are shopping with a tight budget, Costco might just be the place to go for inexpensive honey that stands a solid chance of being as "real" as any commercial product can be (give the knowledge that counterfeit honey is a serious problem at all retail levels, generally without the end vendor's knowledge).

In ancient times, honey was used for medicinal purposes. Today, those interested in the old ways are using Costco honey for a delightfully anachronistic activity: brewing mead. "I use that Kirkland wildflower honey for hydromels all the time," one Reddit home brewer reported. "I think it tastes great and, as you've already mentioned, you can't beat that price. It's actually even cheaper than making beer, believe it or not." A Facebook user co-signed the endorsement: "City Steading Brews on YouTube use it all the time. They say it's outstanding. Especially for primary. But they use [it] for back sweetening all the time too." Across social media, folks buying Costco honey specifically for mead share glowing reports of its price and quality — leading us to conclude that, no matter what companies are sourcing the particular Kirkland honey that you buy, the origins of the product are worthy ones.