Strategy

Honey Care manufactures Langstroth hives and other bee-keeping equipment. It then sells the hives to farmers. At present, a hive costs US$ 57. Since most farmers cannot afford such a big up-front capital investment, Honey Care initially charges a deposit fee of 20% of the sales price, and then deducts the outstanding balance over time from the accounts payable to farmers who sell their honey to Honey Care. Honey Care’s current network of 2,500 farmers is located in extremely poor, subsistence-based rural communities in western Kenya. Working with Honey Care allows these farmers to surpass the poverty line and provide a better life for their families.

Honey Care partners with NGOs to provide and fund training and extension services. Having supplied beekeepers with beehives and trained them in the new technology, Honey Care subsequently acts as purchaser to the communities. Farmers gladly sell to Honey Care since the company’s purchasing price is consistently above that of its commercial competitors. Honey Care then processes and packages the honey in its Nairobi plant. Honey Care has taken the strategic decision to focus initially on the domestic market before serving export markets – with marketing slogans on t-shirts such as “Bee Kenyan, Buy Kenyan”.

As a result of this Kenya First! Policy and its emphasis on quality, Honey Care products are very popular. It supplies major retail outlets, hotels, and industries in Kenya with its pure, natural and organic honey and other related bee products. Honey Care’s most significant planned activity is expansion into Tanzania and Uganda.