Lindy- I am a beekeeper. Just to put you at ease-
If you were dealing with a honey bee, she wouldn't sting you unless you stepped on her or smashed her with your hand and came down on the stinger. Honey bees will fiercely protect their hive if you come near, but will not the nectar source. Honey is very attractive to them. I'm surprised that the soap (with, what- 1oz/ppo?) would attract them though a closed box!
Since you describe her as being quite large, and since it is April, I would suspect you encountered a queen bumble bee. They are out and about on warm spring days looking for a place to start a nest. They hibernate all winter, and come out in the spring. You sometimes see them flying low to the ground, kind of bumping along, coming close to the ground occasionally. I would think that they would be attracted to honey, because once their eggs hatch, they have to feed the new bees until those daughters take over and "Mamma" just lays eggs. She would not be a stinging threat unless you stepped on her nest which would be hidden under an old log, brick, at the base of a bush (near the stem/root zone) in an out-of-the-way place.
Thinking about the market-just brainstorming with myself:
This winter I bought a fake hornet's nest for tricking bees, wasps, etc. from pestering you. It came packaged in a flat cellophane bag, and unfolded like a Chinese paper lantern. The idea is you hang it near your barbeque and it discourages the invasion of other pests. I bought it thinking we could take it in our R.V. but it may not work on a temporary basis. That is, it might discourage bees & wasps from building a nest nearby, but not collecting food- haven't tried it yet.
Another thought- If you had a place away from your booth, maybe at the edge of the parking lot? (I'm picturing my local weekend market- where it is surrounded by rural area-may not work in big city)
You could try placing a small, flat container (like a drink jar lid) with honey in it away from your booth. It would be more attractive than your soap. It would take some experimentation- you wouldn't want to attract a lot of neighborhood bees that wouldn't have found you!
Citronella also repels a lot of insects. you might be able to do something with that.
It would be a shame not to feature your honey soaps at the market- what a loss to the public!
I ended up having to slap the bee away a couple of times to make it leave my stuff alone!!!
