The business came about as a result of two brothers sharing a love of beekeeping and home brewing.
My brother Matt had been into beekeeping since the age of 13 and had ten hives by the time he was 27. At this point Matt had a surplus in honey and with my background in marketing and design we were convinced we could produce delicious honey that also looked good to sell at the various farmer’s markets.
We soon discovered that selling authentic, locally produced honey was challenging when the price was being compared to cheap imported honey being sold in supermarkets at a fraction of the price, meaning it would be impossible to compete.
The bigger problem here is that the UK can only meet 14% of its domestic honey needs making it a large market for cheap adulterated honeys padded out with cheap sugar syrups, that have over time decimated any value that might have once existed within home produced honey.
The thinking behind our award-winning meads and all-natural honeyades was on one level create a family of honest, best-in-class offerings that showcased real authentic honey in a bold added-value light and on another level to do our bit for sustainable, rural regeneration by reversing dwindling pollinator numbers within the region.
After a year of making our modern take on mead in Matt’s garage-turned-micromeadery, and having lots of positive feedback from friends, family and local retailers, we entered our first commercially sized batch (300L at the time!) into the Great Taste Awards in 2019.
We won a two star award for Hopped Sparkling Mead and this gave us the confidence to quit our jobs and go full time making mead. We then discovered that mead had an image problem, with many of those who had tried it previously having a bad experience from cheap sugar sweetened wine-based novelty ‘meads’ being sold at lots of historical sites, gift shops and garden centres. Many of which don’t have any trace of honey in sight.
We set out to change the perceptions of mead by focusing on doing it authentically, using real ingredients, determined to showcase a seamless marriage of honey, water and yeast and not another quick-fix proposition made from cheap wine bases.
Word of mouth has been central to our success be that top tier Great Taste awards, a top-of-the-pile Golden Fork (Wales), a generous smattering of Michelin-star restaurant, National Trust listings and lot of very generous TV coverage from flagship countryside shows as diverse BBC’s Countryfile, Hairy Bikers Go Local and Escape to The Farm and ITV’s Coast and Country.
None of the above would have materialised if we’d settled for producing run-of-the-mill meads and soft drinks, and had that encouraging feedback from our first Great Taste Award judging.
My background (Kit) is in graphic design and then product innovation within a small tech company, which was an all-encompassing role that has fuelled my problem-solving appetite and convinced me that anything is feasible given the right team, innovation and commitment to succeed.
Matt worked as a geologist in Australia before taking a two year sabbatical to cycle the length of the Americas with his now wife and a short stint with a local earth working operation alongside growing his beehive numbers and running courses on beekeeping to public and businesses.
We appeal to a number of key consumer groups including ‘slow food’ foodies who appreciate food made the proper way without short-cuts or shadowy, lower-grade ingredients. We also appeal to healthier living consumers who scrupulously check ingredient decks for synthetic nasties or needless fillers that detract from an authentic only agenda and also consumers who appreciate brands with clear sustainable goals.
We appeal to those who are looking for alternatives to the mainstream soft drinks, beers, wines, ciders or spirits whose values align with our own. Our products sell really well in farm shop food halls, bottle shops, health food shops, garden centres and specialist online retailers.
Mead has a great following and fans of this style of drink will go to extraordinary lengths to seek out the real deal – as we discovered at a few music festivals where several attendees only came as they saw there was going to be a mead bar, or those who drive from Scotland to visit our meadery and attend our open evenings every month.
Referring to an earlier question it’s frustrating when consumers’ first mead experience is underwhelming, having unwittingly purchased either some tourist fayre or cheap offering made with aforementioned ‘quick fix’ ingredients.
There is a reason why mead is enjoying a well-deserved renaissance (400%+) in many parts of the world, ranging from North America, Asia Pacific, to Mainland Europe. Such a revival didn’t take off because of easy access to cheap imposter knock-offs
At this moment in time our 200 hives can meet 50% of our honey needs, which means we need to go out to other like-minded beekeepers to secure the remainder. By providing a regular sales channel coupled with a fair price, we are not only helping rural regeneration but also throwing our weight behind building local pollinator numbers!
There would be a few highlights jostling for top spot:
We made a conscious decision to give mead a contemporary makeover and focus on its benefits for the here and now (such as the taste and natural ingredients) rather than focus on the historical angle of mead too strongly. By making a range of lower abv sparkling meads (3.4%) this opens them up to a range of different occasions such as casual after-work drinks, bbq’s, picnics, food pairing, wedding toasts – or anytime you’d typically reach for a beer, cider or sparkling wine.
But our best move, based on the fantastic interest we have received since launch in February this year, might turn out to be our new range of honey-based soft drinks which we called Honeyade. We spotted a gap for drinks that were sweetened with a drop of UK honey rather than refined sugar or artificial sweetener and very few, simple ingredients. These have been going down a storm so far and may well go on to eclipse all other successes to date.
There’s a few things I’d say to ourselves at the start of this journey if I could. I’d say to take a moment to celebrate the wins no matter how small rather than constantly looking at what’s next and not living in the moment – that gets pretty tiring! Also to keep the main goal in sight and make decisions based on if they are helping you achieve that.
