World Honey Market 2023: Straight From the Hive Just How the Bees Made It.

As consumers, we often take for granted the sweet, golden liquid that graces our tables and adds a touch of sweetness to our meals. But behind every jar of honey lies a complex web of processes, from harvesting and packaging to distribution and sales. Today, Delivery Rank has the pleasure of speaking with this industry expert, who oversees the daily operations of one of the world's largest honey distributors. So, join us as we delve into the fascinating world of honey, with the Director of Operations at World Honey Market.

Can you tell us about the history of the World Honey Market and how it has evolved over time?

The evolution of World Honey Market is nothing short of astonishing. It began with a middle school student's pure persistence and entrepreneurial spirit. Owner and founder John David Peterson was always passionate about insects, and bees, in particular, caught his eye. He convinced his dad to let him skip school to buy his first hive. From that, the company has grown into one of the largest commercial apiaries in the region, offering pollination services across the country, hosting and training international beekeeping students from around the world, and selling gourmet, pure raw honey online and in retail locations.

What makes World Honey Market stand out in the commercial beekeeping industry, and what sets it apart from its competitors?

It would be easy to say the quality of our products, which are unmatched, is what makes us stand out. However, the real root of what makes World Honey Market different is the passion of what we stand for. The company as a whole has its roots in rural America. And part of the vision for the company has always been to strengthen small communities and give those people an opportunity to advance themselves while educating them in the true artisan skill of beekeeping. This doesn't only apply to the communities surrounding our office and packing facility but globally. Students we have mentored and worked with now own successful apiaries in their home countries. In addition, through the company, we offer no-risk fundraising options to youth groups pursuing agriculture education, like the FFA and 4-H.

What is your approach to responsible environmental stewardship and how does it factor into the company's decision-making processes?

Our company begins and ends with bees. Their health and safety is one of our top concerns. The treatment of the environment the bees occupy can be the difference in life or death for species like honeybees.

It may not be common knowledge that the honey bee can only survive in many parts of the world with the assistance of a beekeeper. In many places, wild colonies have dwindled to the brink of extinction. This is in large part to due to modern agricultural practices. What were once massive expanses of land with rich floral and plant varieties now grow a single crop.

When we take our bees somewhere, we want to ensure that proper protocols are in place on the farm with best pest control and fertilization practices. Unfortunately, what may be "best" for some, is not best for our bees. So we do our due diligence to look for responsible farmers and landowners who have the health of the final consumer and our bees in mind.

Can you speak to any challenges or obstacles that you have faced in its growth and how they have been overcome?

Keeping bees alive. There are an incredible number of factors that make beekeeping a constant battle. From colony collapse, pesticides, and even bears, we face it all when simply trying to keep our bees alive. In addition to those, beekeepers are always on the lookout for mites. The Varroa mite is the world's most devastating honey bee pest. Varroa mites are tiny red-brown external parasites of honey bees. Although Varroa mites can feed and live on adult honey bees, they mainly feed and reproduce on larvae and pupae in the developing brood, causing malformation and weakening of honey bees in addition to transmitting numerous viruses.

If there are multiple colonies in an area that are infected with Varroa mites (e.g. feral colonies or untreated hives) they could act as a constant source of infection. Varroa mites cause colonies to weaken and honey bees naturally rob and drift between weakened hives, which result in the spread and invasion of Varroa mites between local honey bee populations.

Due to the exponential nature of population growth, introducing a few extra mites can dramatically affect how quickly the Varroa mite population can reach damaging/detectable levels.

We overcome all of our challenges the same way, from the business side to the bees, through persistence.

Looking ahead to the future, what are World Honey Market's long-term goals and aspirations, and how do you plan to achieve them?

The future of the company is rooted in the name itself. World Honey Market. We plan to continue expanding our reach and goal of educating and helping beekeepers worldwide. As our retail markets continue to grow and expand and we bring awareness about bees and agri-education through our fundraising platform, we don't see ourselves slowing down anytime soon. We take the old saying "As busy as bees" to heart.

If you would like to find out more about World Honey Market, visit https://www.worldhoneymarket.com/