Creating a Buzz in the Honey Industry with Wise Business

In a world filled with mass-produced honey, BeeHype, a UK-based honey business founded by partners Stela and Momchil, is on a mission to reinvent perceptions of this sweet golden nectar. Originally from Bulgaria, they embarked on their journey four and a half years ago, seeking to bring the authentic taste of Bulgarian honey to the UK market. What sets BeeHype apart is their commitment to quality, unique flavours, and innovative products while supporting small beekeepers in Bulgaria with the help of Wise Business.

Making a beeline for quality and flavour

BeeHype's journey began when Stela and Momchil both realised that they missed the taste of honey they remember from their childhoods growing up in Eastern Europe, and realised that they could combine their expertise in marketing and web development to bring these vibrant flavours to the UK, where the honey available in supermarkets is often highly processed.

Stela shares the inspiration behind their business: "From a young age, we knew what real honey taste like. My grandfather is a beekeeper himself, and when we moved to the UK, we noticed that it’s hard to come across real artisanal honey, especially in big cities. So we decided that it would be a great idea to bring the beautiful taste of Bulgarian honey to the UK."

Starting four and a half years ago and reinventing perceptions of honey as a tired sweetener, Momchil says their aim was to create a whole experience around the complex flavours of honey: "Firstly, we have created salted honey, which is a healthy alternative to salted caramel and expanded our portfolio with healthy alternatives to chocolate spreads, jams, sweet chilli sauce, and so on."

Focusing on quality rather than quantity, Momchil emphasises that what lots of people don't realise is that when you buy supermarket honey, a lot of the time you might not actually be buying raw honey: "A lot of the honey products sold go through a long process which removes all of the pollen to prevent crystallisation on the shelves. They boil it, they microfilter it, so all the good stuff inside stripped out, and you're left with just the sugar, which they sell in a plastic squeezy bottle.'' BeeHype is trying to do the opposite by partnering with small apiaries in Bulgaria.

Streamlining international transactions with Wise Business

BeeHype have expanded their operations globally, and sell their honey in the UK, EU, and US, while importing their honey from Bulgaria. As a result, international transactions play a pivotal role in their business activities. Momchil explains that when they first started sending and receiving payments overseas with a previous bank, international transaction fees posed a significant challenge, prompting them to seek a more cost-effective alternative: "We began comparing fees across various accounts, and that's when we discovered Wise. Additionally, a new complexity emerged as our partners transitioned to the euro mid-way through our collaboration. Coupled with that, traditional banks couldn't handle transactions to Bulgaria in a non-local currency, resulting in exorbitant fees. These are the primary reasons for our choice to use Wise.''

BeeHype uses Wise Business to manage international payments, enabling them to pay their Bulgarian suppliers in Bulgarian Lev or Euro, while also facilitating transactions with their US wholesale distributors and international clients.

''Some clients are requesting to pay us in Euros because that's their local currency. Holding Euro account details is therefore really beneficial, allowing us to get paid directly from our customers, without the need for exchange fees'', Momchil says.

Stela says they've noticed the improvements over the years in the Wise app, allowing them to make transfers easier and faster, and they see Wise as a reliable solution for their business and personal use: ''Wise has built trust with us because it actually works'', says Momchil.

Award-winning Products

With their innovative honey products, BeeHype has won three Great Taste Awards for their Lavender Honey, Salted and Cacao Honey. Momchil shares the inspiration behind their newest product Ginger Boost: "We noticed that a lot of people take ginger and turmeric every single day for their health benefits. Some even told us that they add honey to them. So we thought, why don't we make that easier for them? That's how Ginger Boost was born and is now one of our most popular products. "

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The hype around honey

BeeHype has been selling their products online since 2019 and has since expanded to selling in independent shops across the UK, supporting local communities and small businesses.

They initially started receiving orders from independent shops in the EU. However, the complexities arising from Brexit posed challenges to their European expansion. Stela explains: "We started with France and Germany, and we're slowly expanding to more countries, but unfortunately, after Brexit, it's a bit harder to do that." One of their significant achievements is their collaboration with a distributor in New York, marking BeeHype's entry into the competitive US market.

BeeHype's future plans include strengthening their position in the UK market, expanding their team, and setting up an international company for the EU to streamline their distribution process. And while they're committed to maintaining the exceptional quality and taste of their honey products, Wise Business continues to support them with fast, affordable and efficient international payments in the currencies they need.

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