Our Impact
10-20% of honey sold in the UK is British, supplied by 500 or so large bee farmers.
40% of the honey sold in the UK is from China.
In the UK we have around 40,000 small scale local beekeepers. On average they take 11 Kg from a hive each year. it's not much - but it adds up - it's the equivalent of half the UK's official honey production!
So imagine the impact on:
- Consumers if we could buy raw honeys made by bees kept in gardens, allotments, woodlands, orchards, meadows and fields across the UK.
- Small scale beekeepers of having a route to market for their honey and getting a fair price.
- The environment if our beekeepers, the brilliant custodians of our bee population, were supported and able to continue.
This is what Hive & Keeper does.
Our Queen Bee
We’ve trademarked our British Queen Bee because you'll only ever see her on a product label if we can tell you the full story of exactly where and how it was made.
Sustainable beekeeping
Sustainable beekeeping means prioritising the bees’ welfare and their environment over honey production.
A honey crop can never be guaranteed some years there's no surplus for us to take. It all stays with the bees. This is sustainable beekeeping.
Taking more than we should and feeding the bees a sugar syrup instead is not sustainable beekeeping.
We only work with small scale British beekeepers who we visit and see the bees and landscapes that make each honey. No complicated food chain with room for cheating and nowhere to hide poor beekeeping practices.
All of our beekeepers are good custodians of their bees and surroundings - always looking out for their bees' health.
Can we trust honey?
At Hive & Keeper we put one honey from one apiary, one harvest and one beekeeper into one jar - and we tell you exactly where it’s from on the label to the nearest village.
Being able to tell you the story behind every jar is incredibly important to us - we want you to know it's honey you can trust.
You're not just buying honey - you're buying, for example 'Sue's work, her bees, a specific garden, a moment in time captured in 50 jars'.
Sustainability
Treading lightly on the planet is important to us which is why we:
source all of our packaging and supplies from British based businesses
are plastic-free
make sure all our packaging is fully recyclable
have peelable labels on our jars so you can re-use the jars and extend their useful life
work with supplier who do things to reduce their environmental footprint - and not just the bare minimum
keep food miles to a minimum.