The Barreled Bee wants to make the leap to food

Hi, my name is Lee Hedgmon, I’ve worked as a distiller and brewer for over ten years, and I’m the founder of The Barreled Bee, where I bring all the goodness of barrel-aging to honey. I started my business knowing nothing about being an entrepreneur, but I had an idea capitalizing on my years of knowledge of brewing and distilling. I learned about running a business as I went, taking business courses and applying for grants and mentorships. From the beginning, my goal has been to build a brand that showcases all the beautiful ways that honey and bees enrich our lives. I’m a maker at heart and develop recipes and products in my limited free time. I started with single varietal barrel-aged honey in 2017, and in 2020, I released my signature Buzz Stix, cocktail-inspired honey sticks. I've slowly grown this business with only the revenue of sales, small gifts from family/close friends and personal funds.

Right before the pandemic shut everything down in 2020, I was working on a line of condiments that I wanted to get into grocery stores. Life might have paused, but the dream and the ideas kept flowing. I continued to work full-time to support my business, but it became a challenge to grow in a way that was sustainable or would allow me to make that giant leap to producing different kinds of products.

At the end of 2021, I vacated my old production space. I struggled to find a place where I could produce my bottled product and had to get reapproved by the Dept of Agriculture and reapply for my liquor license, a requirement to produce my Buzz Stix, my biggest seller. I have recently found a space I will rent until early 2023. I'm fortunate because it includes a commercial kitchen. The kitchen is key to making new products incorporating my barrel-aged honey and expanding my product line. I’m close to getting existing products into larger markets and launching a new product but doing that will require additional funding, which is where I hope you come in.

The holiday season is my busiest time, so I am working on getting a honey-based sauce ready. Food products require specific steps and larger equipment. The funds would be used for the following:

Condiment Project (Sauce):

• Raw Ingredients $725

• Packaging Supplies (bottles, shrink bands, labels) $1350

• Process Authority & Testing (Documentation and submission of detailed recipe and preparation steps for acidified food product for approval) $450

Buzz Stix:

• Display boxes $650 - for retail store

• Individual box Packaging $800

Honey Processing Equipment:

• 16 gallons heated Mixer/Bottler $1800

As a thank you to my funders:

Any donation of $50 or higher will receive a handwritten thank you note. A small token, but an enormous thank you for your support.

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Thank you for your continued support. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with further developments.