Business Monday: New shop featuring honey products all abuzz in Kona

Earlier this month, a new store opened at Brewery Block in Kailua-Kona that has some people buzzing.

Bee Boys, a natural health and ethical lifestyle brand, opened Bee Space Honey Shop, which in addition to selling the gooey sweet honey, also features salves, cider and other products handcrafted in Hawai’i.

Artisan beekeepers Kevin O’Connor and Ryan Williamson founded Bee Boys in 2009, inspired to practice regenerative beekeeping using organic, biodynamic methods that are better for the bees, for humans and for the environment, according to a company press release.

Today, Bee Boys has an apiary on Moloka’i and is joined by beekeeper Trent Balduff in caring for nearly 60 treatment-free hives on Hawai’i Island. The company makes products from natural and wholesome ingredients sourced from their hives and Hawai’i Island farms, the press release said.

“It was really inspiring to see new and old faces on the very first day we opened,” Williamson said. “We’re excited to be at Brewery Block. The vibe is definitely in line with our demographic.”

The new honey shop at Brew bears the name Bee Space, which is a nod to the space in a natural hive that the honeybees use to move freely around the inside of the colony. Located across the street from Willie’s Hot Chicken, the shop is designed to encourage visitors to move comfortably while they browse and experience all five senses.

Guests can taste tropical honeys and sample healing balms, coffee salves and more while soft music plays, beeswax candles emit a golden glow, and the botanical scent of hand-crafted soaps, hydrosols and other honey-based products engage the senses.

“It wakes you up to life. It’s a gift the bees give us,” Williamson said.

The apiary garden informs the creation of products.

“If we recently harvested vanilla or a white pineapple, it’s going to show up in our product line that week,” Williamson said. “It’s about looking at what we need and how we can use what nature gives us to meet that need.”

While Bee Boys’ apiary products are sold online and at local farmer’s markets, there are some products that are unique to Bee Space, including honey sticks, lollipops and other delectable honey confections.

In-store specialties include honey infused with spirulina, turmeric and chili pepper. Flavors of these limited edition honeys change weekly, based on what’s in season.

At Bee Space, bee boxes are stacked with new hydrosols for the body and home, including Vanilla Tuberose and Golden Rose, and Bee Boys shirts featuring an elevated logo are back in stock.

The honey shop also showcases products created by other local brands including Sour Flower Vinegar, Earth Petal Herbs, Rosewater from BadAsh, and lip balms and deodorants crafted with calendula from Ocean Grace Farms.

Customers are invited to help build the “hive of harmony” by engraving their own copper hex cut-out and adding it to the wall.

“We are taking a dynamic approach to growth with Bee Space, leading to positive social and environmental impact,” Williamson said.