IH Show: A Pharmacist who decided that a better way to help people was to start the first Honey-based subscription service.
Hello Indie Nation,
I am Dr. Stephen Ivo and I was working for a healthcare startup when I realized that the infrastructure of how we prescribe medicine to people in this country was far too dependent on factors other than truly helping the patient live a healthier lifestyle. Because of this, I embarked on a mission to start a company and brand that truly was helping people without negatively affecting other aspects of our society.
What I came up with was the first honey-based subscription service that aims to help people, the environment, and the communities that serve them. BeeWell Box was born. It's not like other e-commerce businesses (especially subscriptions) that are overbearing as it comes quarterly with 3 unique kinds of honey from different farms to help you start building your natural immunity, you're very own compostable pollinator garden (the box!!) with seeds to help the bees, and carefully selected products from local partners who are also trying to positively impact the environment. It's the ultimate product for anyone trying to be healthier and more conscious about the choices affecting our world.
Up to Date Stats:
-Launched in March of 2021 and just completed our first yearly shipments of boxes
-Over 100 subscribers to date generating close to 30K in total revenue
-Incredibly positive feedback with a churn rate (subscribers canceling) of under 5 %
-Currently in partnership with over 30 honey producers/apiaries
With the honey market expected to grow to 11-12 billion dollars annually this year paired with customers' inclination to get products through the mail BeeWell Box is primed to make a serious splash in 2022. We are currently working on growing the brand and getting more eyes on and this podcast seems like a really great opportunity to show people what we have been working on.
Landing page: www.BeeWellBox.com
BeeWell video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8S5A_SeUHyI
Please check out the website and video to better understand the model.
I am proud to answer any and all questions! Giddy up.
BeeWell,
-Stephen
Love the idea and congrats on the success!
One small piece of unsolicited feedback: your site uses the term "local" a lot to describe the honey and the beekeepers, but that doesn't really make sense to me for a web-based subscription service. It's not local to me, after all :)
I think you'd get the same value without the confusion by describing the size of the operations, e.g. small, small batch, single-person, etc.
Another thought: you could double down on the localness by describing the locations and producers in more detail. Verdant Tea does a great job telling the story of their sourcing from small producers: https://verdanttea.com/laoshan-osmanthus-black-tea
Hi There,
Thank you for your reply! I appreciate it. I think you may have misinterpreted the model. If you are living within the United States, the honey will absolutely be local to you :). That is what the entire program is about. So if you live in Massachusetts, Texas, or California, you will be getting honey that is from your region. Currently, we have expanded to both the Northeast Region and the Southeast region and are beginning westward expansion as we speak. After hearing this, do you still think it would make sense to move away from local and towards the terms you used? The goal is to be as authentic as possible.
I think the tea sourcing is a really neat idea that we will definitely explore further. We have our partner farms page on our website (did you get a chance to check this out?) but I agree that it could be better.
Again, thank you for this reply!
BeeWell,
Stephen
That does change things, and I clearly misinterpreted. My bad! I did click part way through the signup process and I guess I expected to be able to see and select the producers?
Given that, my feedback would then be to consider a term like "local to you" in some places? Maybe add some copy about how the process includes selecting the producer closest to the subscriber? Although, it might just be that I'm a little too cynical about food product marketing :)
I didn't, sorry. The link on the local businesses page for Partner Farms links to a 404. But I see the link in the nav (Hardiness Farms) does link to that content. Great stuff!
My 2 cents: bring some of that content on to the homepage, or link to it directly from there. I think that sells the local-ness really well and adds authenticity!