Helping products from the hive reach new markets
A desk-based piece of work carried out by the BioVale and Bioscience Innovation teams at the Biorenewables Development Centre (BDC) has helped Bayview Bees develop ideas for new products and improve their packaging for existing products.
Developing ideas for new products and improve existing packaging
Bayview Bees is a Yorkshire honey producer who sell their products direct to customers as well as supplying 35 shops. They wanted to expand their customer base and promote their products more widely to increase sales and the BDC was able to help them through the European Regional Development Funded - Bioeconomy Growth Programme.
Bayview Bees wanted to improve the packaging for their honeycomb, to make the product look more premium and to make it clearer to the consumer that the materials used for the packaging were recycled and recyclable. The BDC designed a sleeve for their existing packaging to convey this information and improve the look of the product. The BDC also identified new customer groups for Bayview Bees’ products: namely the corporate gifting and hospitality sectors, the latter of which should be easily accessible due to the number of hotels and bed and breakfasts located in the Scarborough District, many of which are actively looking to source local produce. Finally, the BDC advised on methods of propolis collection from the Bayview hives, a product which another local company, Nature’s Laboratory, use in the formulation of their products and which they indicated they would be interested in purchasing more locally.
David Hanson, Owner of Bayview Bees said: The ideas and designs which the BDC have brought to the table will be used to push my business forward. As a small business owner, it’s often hard to lift your head up to see what is going on because there’s always so much to do. It’s been great to have a team behind you that can do some of the looking for you.
Alice North, who leads the BioVale team said: We’ve really enjoyed working with Bayview Bees to help them develop the business, gain recognition, and hopefully generate more profits. The products they produce are delicious and they deserve to reach as many potential customers as possible.
Bayview Bees also received support from the BioVale team at the BDC through the Sustainable Scarborough project funded by Anglo American, which helped them develop some new communications materials including QR codes for their products, video footage and photographs to use on their website. The team also helped them to enter their products in the Great Taste awards in which they won two stars for their Borage Honey and Honeycomb and one star for their Spring Set Honey.
Redesigned existing packaging
Identified new customer groups
Advised on new methods of propolis collection
Notes to editors:
This project has received funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020
The York, North Yorkshire and East Riding (YNYER) LEP awarded a grant of £1M to the BDC as part of the Local Growth Fund (LGF) support which funded the equipment used to carry out this project.
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