Clarence Valley business HoneyBee Hives are buzzing with excitement after being announced as the runner’s up in the 2022 Australian Rural Business Awards, for the Excellence in E-Commerce Award.
The awards are designed to recognise the strength, resilience, and talent of small business owners in rural and regional areas who have, in the last few years alone, gone through droughts, bushfires, mouse plagues, floods, lack of tourism and a global pandemic.
Based in Coutts Crossing, HoneyBee Hives are run by dynamic husband and wife team Scott Richardson and Di McQueen Richardson, who described themselves as being “over the moon” to receive the recognition.
Established a year after the couple met and began dating in 2017 in response to a surge in demand for bees in the local region, HoneyBee Hives specialise in the creation and sale of bees and beekeeping equipment, award-winning boutique honey and honeycomb products, and all-natural beeswax-based balms which are lovingly hand-crafted using superior quality ingredients, including beeswax from their own apiaries, organic butters, oils, herbs, and flowers and 100 percent pure essential oils.
Using a combination of beekeeping and business skills, the couple have developed a unique set up within the beekeeping industry.
Along with their nomination and subsequent placing in the E-Commerce Award, the couple were delighted to have been named as finalists in the following categories: Australian Made Small Business Excellence Award, Positive Impact (Making a Difference) Award, Overcoming the Odds Award, Micro Business Excellence Award, and the Rural Business To Watch Award.
The couple are proud of their achievements, particularly surviving and continuing to grow as a business after experiencing four catastrophic seasons of drought, bushfires and floods.
Their beeswax-based balms and boutique honey have previously been purchased by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to be used as gifts, highlighting “Excellence in Australian Products”, for visiting dignitaries at Australian Foreign Embassies across the world.
While they acknowledge it can be challenging to be a successful small business in rural and regional Australia, the believe that the support and loyalty of their customers and local rural community has been invaluable for the survival and growth of HoneyBee Hives.
The couple continuously strive to provide excellence with all products and believe that outstanding customer service is essential to creating lasting relationships with customers.
For more information, please visit www.honeybeehives.com.au