The use of honey in breakfast foods has been a special focus of this year’s National Honey Month in September. “Honey has always been a part of people’s morning routines through its use to enhance a cup of hot tea or top an English muffin,” says Catherine Barry, the National Honey Board’s director of marketing. “This National Honey Month, we’re celebrating how honey is the perfect way to start the day, whether it’s topping a piece of toast or included in the formulation of a honey granola or honey muffin.”

The National Honey Board has been celebrating National Honey Month in September by partnering with retail and wholesale bakers throughout the U.S. in a celebration of honey, honey bees, and how this all-natural sweetener is used in a variety of bakery foods, from breads and rolls to pastries and pies.

This year the National Honey Board is working with 10 bakeries to promote honey and the importance of honey bees to our ecosystem. Each participating bakery has been featuring special made-with-honey products in September, as well as setting up a sticky station in their bakery, giving customers the ability to top their bakery foods or beverages with three varietals of honey, each with a unique flavor and color.

Participating bakeries include Born & Bread Bakehouse, Lakeland, Florida; Gracious Bakery, New Orleans; Floriole Café and Bakery, Chicago; Back in the Day Bakery, Savannah, Georgia; Baker Miller, Chicago; Companion Bakery, St. Louis; Cornerstone Baking, Indianapolis; Good Cakes & Bakes, Detroit; La Baguette Magique, West Chester, Pennsylvania; Little Tart Bakeshop, Atlanta; and Essen Bakery, Philadelphia.

Fifty-seven percent of honey usage occurs during the breakfast daypart, so honey is a natural partner to promote throughout the year with breakfast-themed products such as breads, muffins, bagels and hot cereals, according to the National Honey Board. In addition, honey is the secret ingredient for making incredible smoothies, and secondary placements of honey near yogurt and fresh fruit will yield incremental sales throughout the warmer months and all year long.