In this specially commissioned set of guest posts, the founders of two innovative and ethically-guided brands make a passionate case for home-grown honey. First, Suzie Miller, co-founder of Scottish Bee Company, explains why high-quality, home-proceed honey offers benefits not just for health and biodiversity, but that also strengthen rural economies and resilience. Up next, Kit Newell, co-founder of Hive Mead, describes how his brand is leading a “modern mead renaissance” – and why honey bees and the beekeepers who nurture them will always form the backbone of the business. 

By Suzie Millar – Co-founder Scottish Bee Company

Backing British beekeepers, the rural economy and countryside pollinators

“In the UK we only produce around 20–25% of the honey we consume, meaning 75–80% is imported, much of it from China. Despite growing awareness of provenance, sustainability and countryside connection, there is still confusion about how honey is made and what counts as real honey.

A key challenge is ethics. If the UK were to produce all of its own honey, would this reduce forage for other pollinators? While more hives can currently be placed in rural areas, we are a small island with a natural ceiling.

Pricing is another issue. Many consumers do not understand why UK honey costs more. In China, honey can be harvested daily and artificially matured in a machine, whereas here we may only get a few harvests each season. This creates sharp price disparities. We believe the answer is a two tier system, similar to ‘free-range’ eggs. Consumers understand why free-range costs more and choose it from an ethical standpoint. We propose a new standard, ‘Hive-matured honey’, to highlight honey naturally ripened in the hive rather than nectar artificially matured by machine.

Encouragingly, retailers like ‘Marks & Spencer’, ‘Ocado’ and ‘Holland & Barrett’ are helping to grow the market for homegrown honey. At the same time, consumers are realising honey’s role as a natural alternative to manufactured products. The NHS recommends honey for coughs and sore throats. It is widely used in veterinary medicine and increasingly in human wound care. We have also introduced honey as a natural sports fuel. With the perfect glucose to fructose ratio for endurance activity, it delivers steady energy without digestive side effects of the ultra-processed energy gels. For those who know, it is a quiet revolution.

Innovation is also reshaping consumer interest. The growth of ‘hot honey’ shows how people want to enjoy honey’s natural sweetness in new, exciting formats.

The Scottish Bee Company Perspective
At the Scottish Bee Company, we see honey as part of a bigger mission: supporting the environment, education and local communities. Through our charity ‘Repollinate’, we turn concrete spaces into wildflower havens, planting pollinator friendly species to increase forage for bees and insects.

We run school programmes that help children grow vegetables and watch pollinators at work, building early connections between food and nature. With partners such as ‘HP’, we have created pollinator projects for the NHS, including a healing garden for the chemotherapy ward in Ayrshire. We have also received grants from councils across Scotland to fund our ‘Beds for Bees’ projects with local community groups, strengthening both biodiversity and community ties.

Among our hero lines, our ‘Scottish Heather Honey’ stands out for its unique nutritional profile. Rich in antioxidants and minerals, it is one of the most prized honeys in the world and a true reflection of Scotland’s landscapes. It shows how provenance and premium quality can come together in a single jar.

Looking Ahead
The future of homegrown honey depends on innovation, authenticity and sustainability. Added value products like infusions, hot honey and sports nutrition can attract new consumers, while traditional ranges such as heather honey remind people of the purity and heritage at the heart of beekeeping.

Honey must come to represent more than sweetness. It should stand for a resilient countryside economy, thriving pollinators and a forward looking food culture. At the Scottish Bee Company, that is the mission we are proud to carry forward.”

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By Kit Newell, co-founder of Hive Mind

It’s all about the bees

“At the heart of everything we do is a simple commitment: It’s all about the bees.

Prior to launching Hive Mind we spent a few years selling small quantities of our honey in jars at local markets. After the 1000th time explaining why our honey was more expensive than honey that can be found on the supermarket shelves, we realised that honey had an image problem and it was hugely undervalued by some consumers who were used to paying £1.50 a jar for seemingly the same thing. After finding out that honey was one of the most counterfeit products globally, with twice as much sold as produced, it became clear that much of the honey that appears on the shelves might not actually be genuine.

We then sought a different use for our honey, and given that we were keen homebrewers, fermenting the honey into drinks seemed like a logical next step.

Honeybees, and the beekeepers who nurture them, form the backbone of our work. It’s only by sourcing honey from our own hives and forming partnerships with other beekeepers that we can ensure the highest quality honey, and create a dependable market for small-scale producers. This type of support, by us and other like-minded producers and consumers keeps the craft of beekeeping alive, protecting pollinator habitats, crops, and adding to rural economies. 

Building on this foundation, we are proud to lead a modern mead renaissance. Mead, often thought of as an ancient curiosity, is enjoying a vibrant revival, and we are at the forefront of this movement. By blending centuries-old tradition with innovation, we are showing that mead can be as sophisticated and versatile as fine wine or craft beer, tailored to the modern palette. Our meads are now finding their way onto the tables of Michelin-starred restaurants, where chefs and sommeliers are infusing them into, or pairing them with dishes in exciting new ways. Most recently, our canned sparkling mead has been picked up by M&S as part of their Future of Food programme, spotting emerging trends. This recognition is a testament to the extraordinary potential of good quality honey, and therefore mead, ethically produced with low food miles, and all natural ingredients. It’s easy to see why mead is having a renaissance!

Innovation doesn’t stop with modernising the world of mead. This year the arrival of our Honeyade, a refreshing honey-based soft drink, offers a new way for people to experience the richness of real honey in an everyday format. Honeyade is an ultra-unprocessed soft drink, containing just a touch of honey for sweetness, sparkling water, natural flavours, fruit extracts and lemon juice for acidity. Light but packed with character, a drink that celebrates bees and beekeepers while giving consumers a delicious, sustainable alternative to mass-produced highly processed soft drinks. A drink you can enjoy with a clear conscience as every sip backs up the bees.”

Main image: Bee hives in the heather-rich Scottish highlands/Scottish Bee Company