Northumberland Honey Co.

The Northumberland Honey Co are a small, family owned and run business with 300 honey producing colonies of bees throughout Northumberland and Cumbria. Much of their work involves collaborating with gamekeepers and land managers to increase bee numbers on grouse moors at crucial heather flowering times, and in turn helping to expand heather moorland through pollination, which would otherwise not take place, against a background of declining bee numbers.

Founded in 2015 by Luke and Suzie Hutchinson, the Northumberland Honey Co began by producing three annual harvests of honey and wildflower sparkling mead and gradually expanded their range to include cosmetics, candles and infused honey, as their colonies grew.

Currently, 95% of the honey consumed in the UK is imported and the Northumberland Honey Co have made it their mission to be part of a circular system with no importation or adulteration, a primary producer supplying a completely natural food to local people while improving biodiversity.

The Northumberland Honey Co also sponsor charity clay pigeon shooting events such as The Whitfield Clay Shoot, continuing their work of building bridges between landscape, agriculture and leisure sectors.

A home-grown product, heather honey is an exemplar of the integration of food security with sustainable ecosystem services.