SWEET AND SPICY - Beekeeper spices up honey market

What started out as an experiment for Lennox Deane and his wife, Mercedes, has transformed into a profitable business that is already spicing up the honey market.

Lennox started beekeeping almost eight years ago, just as a hobby, while retaining his day job as a lecturer at the University of Technology, Jamaica.

Unlike many beekeepers who are contented with selling the pure honey, the Deanes, who are proprietors of Bee Wise Honey Products, have decided spice up their products. They now market honey which is infused with cinnamon and scotch bonnet pepper.

"If you are going into business you need to distinguish yourself and make sure that your selling point is different from everybody else," Lennox said.

"I wanted to find something that I like and I know that people would like, that has benefits, not just health benefits but economic benefits. I found out for myself that cinnamon and honey are an excellent combination and when I feel like I'm getting the cold or the flu, I normally take a spoon of honey or cinnamon," he explained.

This home-style remedy was effective, but he confessed that it was a bit awkward to throw a dash of cinnamon powder on a spoon to have it with honey. The right combination was arrived at after much research, trial and error, with his wife being the taster.

The same approach was taken for the 'hot honey'. Though it may sound like an unusual pairing, it provides the right amount of sweetness, followed by a subtle heat, which leaves one's taste buds tingling for more.

"It makes a perfect addition to virtually anything," the beekeeper bragged.

The products have been approved by the Bureau of Standards, and reviewed by the Scientific Research Council.

The Deanes were among the many farmers and producers who displayed products at the Jamaica Agricultural Society's Agricultural Show - AgroFest -- held at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries' playing field at Hope Gardens in Kingston on the weekend.

Lennox told THE STAR that when he began beekeeping he had 10 hives. His apiary has grown several folds since then. He confessed that he had no idea that beekeeping would have been as challenging as he expected it would have been a little more than a walk in the park.

"I had the space, and to be honest I thought it would be pretty easy, but I have come to realise it is not, it is a lot of work," he said.

"The first time was like a revolution that is not as easy as I thought, but I enjoy it because when you are with the bees, you learn a lot from them, you appreciate things more. I didn't start to look at trees until I had the apiary, and when I go out I look and say 'that is a nice plant', and 'I didn't know that there was logwood up here', so you start to see things more," Lennox related.

Mercedes, his wife of nearly three decades, said she wondered if he knew what he was getting into, but she nevertheless gave him her full support.

"Bees sting me, but they don't stink him," Mercedes said, in between laughter.

Lennox, meanwhile, said he has his eyes set on expanding his apiary as well as getting involved in widescale farming. He used the opportunity to encourage young people to get involved in agriculture as well as grow their entrepreneurial spirit.

"The bottom line is that farming is not just about digging a hole. I notice that farmers just focus on primary producing, but I really think there is a potential in getting value-added products and selling it. It's more than just planting cocoa and selling it. What can the cocoa do? Having an apiary and just selling honey, what are the by-products? I have a lot of other products to come other than the peppered honey," Lennox said.