The Honey Bear: A Sweet History

plastic honey bear with 1,000 yard "I just got back from war" stare

The iconic honey bear. You’ve seen them in your pantry and on grocery store shelves for years. But where did the idea for a bear-shaped honey container come from? Was it because of the beloved bear Winnie the Pooh, whose love of honey got him in stuck in tight spots? Or was the honey bear someone’s ingenious idea to give honey packaging a high cuteness factor?


In reality, the first honey bear was designed, manufactured, and sold in 1957 by Ralph and Luella Gamber, the founders of Dutch Gold Honey. They were looking for a unique container for their honey, and came up with the now-familiar honey bear. While the bear isn’t the only bottle for honey, it has become popular and widely recognized as a traditional honey container.

Honey Bear Sizes

The original honey bears weren’t nearly as sturdy as present-day honey bears. They would sometimes leak from the ears or noses, causing big messes of sticky honey. At Container & Packaging Supply, we offer sturdy honey bears of various sizes and materials. They come in 5 fluid oz LDPE (8 net weight oz of honey), 8 fluid oz PET or LDPE (12 net weight oz of honey), and 16 fluid oz PET (24 net weight oz of honey). The LDPE honey bears are more squeezable than the PET honey bears, and the PET bottles are more translucent than the LDPE bottles.

Measurements for Honey Bears

If you are confused as to why honey containers have two measurements, don’t fret. You can find more information on the measurement of honey on this blog post. If you don’t want to read the whole article, here is a summary. Honey is measured by weight, not volume. Our honey bear bottles and other honey containers are measured by volume. As an example, if you have a 5 fluid ounce honey bear, it will displace 5 fluid ounces of liquid. But if you put it on a scale, it will weigh 8 ounces. Confusing? Yes. But we don’t make up the rules for honey measurements.

Perhaps you need a larger container than 16 fluid oz, or don’t want to associate your honey with super-cute plastic bears. We can help you find other containers that will hold your sweet and sticky honey just as well. But whatever container you decide for your honey, it will be golden and sweet!

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