Where It All Started
Our company grew from the roots of education. As teachers, two of our founding partners, K. Matthews and J. Pitcock developed a project-based learning program that targeted at-risk students needing an alternative route to the traditional teaching method. They formed an Apiculture (honeybee keeping) program that introduced students to the art of “beekeeping” at the center of their education all the while teaching Science, Technology, English, Art and Mathematics (STEAM) to support that focus. Students took a "hands on" approach with the management of honeybees, collection of honey from hives, manufacturing candles and lip balm from the beeswax, and filtering honey to make a marketable product. The students learned real world business applications on how to move their products from the hive to the consumer. The students were taught how to market their products through manufacturing, packaging, branding, advertising and fulfillment. The importance of community service was also emphasized and students created a beehive maintenance program for local farmers. After creating and running a successful program, Kenyon and Jeremy provided the framework for the project-based learning alternative that the school could maintain on their own. It was from these roots in education that Bluegrass Hive & Honey came to be.
Bluegrass Hive & Honey Created
Once the school could maintain the program on their own, the founding partners decided to create a separate business to highlight the products that can be made from apiary sources. Through the selling of these products, they wanted to create a way to give back to the apiary community and help in its educational endeavors. Bluegrass Hive & Honey was formed and our first product launch was targeted to the bearded man. By using beeswax and honey in our products we could provide the Bearded Man a means to protect and manage their beards. We formulated the “Original” scented beard wax and introduced it to the world. Since then we have added more beard waxes, beard balms and beard oils in multiple scents to our line.