Black Bee Honey passes £1m turnover as traceable honey wins shoppers

Black Bee Honey crossed £1m in annual turnover, with revenue up 49% year on year, as demand grows for honey that can be traced to its source. The Somerset business was founded in 2017 by beekeepers Chris Barnes and Paul Webb to offer an alternative to the blended, often imported honey that fills supermarket shelves.

Its model is provenance as product. Black Bee works with a collective of more than 15 British beekeepers, and stamps every jar with the beekeeper's name and the location of the hive, offering full traceability in a category long dogged by questions over adulteration and mislabelling. The multi-award-winning honey is available nationwide, with customers including Holland & Barrett, the National Trust, Ocado and Booths, while Black Bee is also the sole supplier for the Harrods British honey range.

"Reaching £1 million in turnover is a huge milestone for us, particularly because we've built the business without compromising on what made us start it in the first place," said co-founder Paul Webb. "We've always believed British honey has been undervalued, and there's a huge opportunity to change that."

Co-founder Chris Barnes added: "Growth only really matters if we can use it to support more British beekeepers, protect more habitat and get more people excited about the incredible honey being produced here in the UK."

Black Bee is a certified B Corp and Living Wage employer, and has donated 2% of turnover to wildflower-meadow restoration with Plantlife since 2020.