Sonya Hook caught up with Mark Wakefield, one of the founders of Beesou, a bitter honey aperitif, to find out whether building sustainability into the business from day one can lead to success in both profits and reducing environmental impact

Making your business more sustainable is challenging, but what if every decision – from the very start – is made with this in mind? Beesou was created to tap into a gap in the market for a drink that offers ingredient transparency, according to co-founder Mark Wakefield, and alongside this, the founders decided the brand would also use ethical sourcing and have a commitment to sustainability.

Wakefield says: “From the beginning we committed to using only natural ingredients that were responsibly and ethically sourced. One of the reasons we created Beesou was our frustration with the lack of transparency within the drinks industry. We believe people have the right to know exactly what they are putting into their bodies.

“As we’ve grown, maintaining those standards has remained one of our biggest challenges because high-quality honey and botanicals come at a premium.

“Of course, we’re always looking for efficiencies, but we’ll never compromise on ingredient quality or our values simply to reduce costs.”

The British-made 11% abv honey aperitif is coloured naturally with safflower extract. The liquid is made
using a fermented honey wine base, blended with botanicals such as bitter orange, cinchona bark, chinotto and pink grapefruit.

Wakefield says: “Beesou is an all-natural aperitif, with no artificial colours or flavours. It is also a brand with purpose at its heart.”

The purpose, in this case, is to help protect bees by raising awareness of their importance. This is done by supporting ethical beekeeping and donating 10% of the profits to Bees for Development. More recently, the company has started working with a partner charity in London called Urban Bees, to offer its customers a beekeeper experience.

“We want our customers to see the journey, to learn about the bees and understand the journey. It’ll be something we offer to consumers next, to really immerse them in the brand and to help them understand how and why we are focused on saving the bees.”

Other environmental considerations include the use of recycled cardboard, creating fully recyclable bottles, using ‘eco-corks’ made from reclaimed cork offcuts, and eliminating plastic and paper from the bottle itself wherever possible.

B corp certification

The business officially started back in 2019, and the founders worked toward B Corp criteria from the start, with certification awarded in 2021.

Wakefield says: “B Corp perfectly reflected what we wanted Beesou to stand for – balancing purpose
with profit.

“We are incredibly proud to have become the world’s first B Corp-certified aperitif in 2021, and the certification helps hold us accountable as we continue to grow.”

One of the key challenges in the early days was sourcing the right honey suppliers, as Wakefield explains. “Honey is one of the world’s most adulterated foods, often diluted or replaced with industrial sugar syrups, so sourcing responsibly was incredibly important to us. We wanted complete confidence in both the quality of our ingredients and the ethics behind them.

“We spent a considerable amount of time finding UK honey suppliers who could demonstrate genuine ethical beekeeping practices, particularly ensuring their bees always retain enough honey to survive the winter naturally.

“We also hope that, by talking openly about ethical beekeeping, we can help educate consumers about
why it matters.”

Education is also important for showcasing Beesou itself and how it can be consumed. The Beesou (or Honey) Spritz is the brand’s signature serve, while other serving suggestions include the Don’t Bee Old Fashioned, the Beegrita, the Vesbee Martini and the Beegroni.

It’s possible consumers are already searching for this kind of British-made, clean label brand; certainly, Young’s Pubs seems to think so. The company recently selected Beesou for a nationwide listing across its estate, with a range of honey-themed cocktails set to appear on the menu.

This upwards trajectory in the UK sits alongside recent launches in France, Norway and the Netherlands, with several more European markets to follow. The off-trade will also be part of the next phase of growth. Beesou already has the support of retailers such as The Whisky Exchange and Daylesford Organic farm shops, but it could also find a natural home with independent retailers, aligning with the sector’s expertise in brand storytelling, says Wakefield.

He adds: “Today’s consumers are far more informed than ever before. Increasingly, they want to understand where their products come from and how they are made.”

Beesou is also extremely versatile in how it can be consumed, with the Honey Spritz, at just 3% abv,
tapping into the current trend for lower-alcohol serves. Could a Beesou Spritz RTD be on the cards for the
retail sector? Wakefield isn’t ruling it out, but for now the focus is building on the strong momentum the
brand has generated.

“Brands that are open and authentic will continue to earn consumer trust,” Wakefield concludes.