BEEing Innovative

Tony welcomes back a former guest to learn about the world of bees and honey and her work at Nate's Honey, the #1 brand in honey in the United States. The Honey Industry in the U.S. is over a billion dollars in retail sales, with roughly 157 million pounds consumed annually.

Meet Natalie Roesler. She is the Senior Director of Innovation at Sweet Harvest Foods.

 It's a growing category that's been expanding year over year, driven by consumer interest in natural, minimally processed sweeteners.

Innovation Philosophy: Honey as the Star

Nate's emphasizes quality, consistency, traceability, and minimal processing—gently warmed honey with pollen and enzymes left intact. Innovation isn't about adding honey as just another sweetener; it's about celebrating its natural benefits and expanding into adjacent categories that fit consumer lifestyles.

• Nut butters (honey-infused)

• Fruit spreads

• Lozenges and other wellness items

The team starts with deep consumer understanding through segmentation—knowing Nate's buyers already purchase nut butters, fruits, spreads, and similar items. New products celebrate honey while staying clean-label and delivering on wellness.

Technical Challenges of Working with Honey:

Honey isn't as simple as it sounds. It naturally crystallizes, which creates formulation hurdles:

• It grabs moisture aggressively (especially in nut butters), making textures thick.

• It interacts differently with ingredients like pectin in fruit spreads.

Extensive trials, shelf-life testing, and consumer sensory work are required to ensure products meet brand expectations while remaining as close to the hive as possible. Nate's takes pride in raw, unfiltered honey.

BEEhind the Scenes: Beekeeping and QualityNate's is part of Sweet Harvest Foods and operates Nate's Hives, making them the largest beekeeper in the United States with over 100 beekeepers and apiary sites across multiple states. They actively manage bee health (food, shelter, water) to ensure strong colonies and consistent honey production. Global sourcing experts test every batch for pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, and adulteration through third-party labs (including specialized testing in Germany). Regions known for adulteration are avoided entirely. This traceability is especially crucial for premium products like Manuka honey from New Zealand, which faces counterfeiting due to its rarity and high value.

 Natalie highlights several exciting recent launches:

• Highest UMF 20+ Manuka (Unique Manuka Factor—tested for specific beneficial compounds).

• Manuka Minis — convenient half-ounce on-the-go packs for tea, coffee, or direct consumption.

• 100% Manuka Honey Lozenges — pure honey with no additives, in easy blister packs. (A challenge to competitors' formulas that often contain very little actual Manuka plus fillers like tapioca syrup.)

These products deliver premium Manuka in practical, wellness-focused formats while maintaining its thicker, more stable consistency through controlled creaming.

Consumer-Centric Approach and Commercial Success.

 The innovation process emphasizes:

• Starting with real consumer behavior and insights.

• Ensuring brand fit, clean label standards, and profitability.

• Smart packaging decisions (e.g., wide-mouth jars for easier stirring of natural nut butters that separate).

• Moving quickly without "paralysis by analysis" to seize market opportunities.

The team uses focus groups, sensory testing, and direct consumer feedback on claims, design, and usability to create differentiated products that resonate on the shelf.

This episode offers a fascinating BEEhind-the-scenes look at how a heritage honey brand stays authentic while expanding thoughtfully into new categories—always putting quality, bees, consumers, and clean ingredients first.

A must-listen for anyone interested in food innovation, natural products, or the specialty honey space.

Are you looking to BEE-gin an exciting new career? Check out the latest jobs at Timpl.