The global market for Honey is expected to reach US$12.1 billion by the year 2027, trailing a post COVID-19 CAGR of 3.6% over the analysis period 2020 through 2027. Robust commercial use of honey & beeswax is primarily responsible for the healthy outlook for apiculture. Apiculture represents the practice of maintaining colonies of honey bees for obtaining different products, including honey, beeswax, propolis, royal jelly, honeydew and pollen among others. Demand for these bee products is continuously expanding worldwide because of the increased awareness among consumers about their beneficial features. Honey is now one of the main ingredients for the thriving natural foods industry. Honey has a variety of flavors and qualities because of which, it is used by a number of end-use industries besides food and beverages, including pharmaceutical, chemicals and personal care among others. Food and beverages has been the dominant end-user of bee products, especially honey, for long and would continue to be so for many more years to come. The industry uses honey as sweetening agent and for flavoring. With adverse effects of sugar sweeteners on health becoming more obvious demand for honey is increasing. Growing liking among consumers for low calorie, healthy and natural sweeteners is anticipated to help demand growth for honey from this end-user industry remain steady. Prominence for commercial beekeeping is increasing as several new industries start using honey and other bee products. Cosmetic and medicinal uses of bee products would especially drive demand. Across the world, honey is being increasingly used as a substitute for artificial sweeteners. Honey and other bee products' medicinal and cosmetic industry uses have also been growing. Manuka, honey for instance, is fast gaining popularity for its antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Honey is also being increasingly used for home remedies, for reducing weight and acne and for improving digestion. Honey is also one of the key ingredients for a variety of recipes in home cooking.

New bee colonies are established constantly in all major producing countries for keeping up with the growing demand for bee products. The number of beekeeping enterprises and colonies is anticipated to further increase with the growing interest of entrepreneurs in the business. The apiculture market is mainly the market for honey, live bees and beeswax with the honey segment representing the largest of all due to the highest consumption rate. Honey enjoys highest consumption in developed regions. However, honey laundering is one of the factors with the potential to adversely impact growth of the market. Another prominent factor with the ability to restrict growth is price volatility. Bee farming is also influenced by environmental factors such as temperature. Pests and less awareness among the keepers also hinder productivity. The different types of bee hives are traditional hives, langstroth hives and Kenyan top bar hives. The market is dominated by the langstroth hives type. This type is extensively used by keepers in developed countries. It offers several benefits over conventional hives. The hives are compact and harvesting honey and other bee products is easier in these hives. Growing awareness about importance of bees for our ecosystem will compel breeders to practice sustainable methods such as maintaining native bee population, using top bar hives, giving more control to bees etc. In top bar hives, bees are allowed to create hives on their own. Combs are built in the shape and manner that naturally comes to bees. Sustainable bee keeping also allows bees work in the way nature intended for them to work. Sustainable practices allow bees to follow natural processes. They give bees more control in hive creation. Major companies are aggressively investing in research for developing technologies for producing better quality and high purity honey and other products. Technologies are also under development for extracting honey in new flavors.

Market demand for honey has been enjoying healthy growth in recent years owing to its perceived health benefits, in both developed and developing nations. Myriad health and healing benefits of honey that are driving its widespread consumption over the years include antibacterial agents against MRSA bacteria strains that are drug resistant; elimination of drug-resistant bio-films for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis; reducing the damage to colon in colitis; expedite healing of burn wounds, reduce scarring and swelling, reduce odors, and protect the wound from sticky dressing. In addition to its numerous health benefits, honey is benefitting from the increasing youth populace in the world's two most populous nations, India and China, as this powerful demography prefers branded, healthy, and fitness friendly food and beverage products. This trend is also led by increasing urbanization as well as the expanding middle class group in emerging nations. The increasing consumer focus on health has led honey manufacturers to promote the benefits of honey. Historical evidences prove that honey was locally applied to heal a range of ailments for more than 2700 years, although the chemistry related to the antibacterial and antiseptic characteristics of honey was discovered only recently. Honey-based wound gels are used along with conventional medicine as antibacterial agents against MRSA bacteria strains that are drug resistant. Honey helps in the elimination of drug-resistant bio-films for the treatment of chronic rhinosinusitis. When the use of topical antibiotics is not advisable for diabetic-ulcer treatments, then topical honey is the best alternative. Honey is rich in antioxidants that reduce the damage to colon in colitis. Lemon juice sweetened with honey is used to treat coughs, sore throats, and laryngitis. Oxymellin, a concoction made of vinegar, water, and honey is used as vermifuge.