 Good evening everybody. Welcome to the Private Property Farming Podcast. My name is Mbali Nwokko, your host as always, right here on the Farming Podcast. Happy holidays to each and every one of you watching us from home, watching us from your holiday destinations. It's super, super great, obviously, to know that we've got audiences as well that constantly support the podcast right here on Private Property. Today we're speaking about bee hives and honey and the process of making honey. And how do we get honey into your home? And we're speaking to an agri-paneur or an entrepreneur in this space. And she's going to tell us about a company called Bee Loved Honey. So I want to know all the juices. Is she working with bee farmers? Is she a bee farmer as well? Or what type of stage or process does she operate within the agricultural valley chain? And also, is she exporting a product? Is she selling locally? What type of marketing channels is she currently exploring? And any new opportunities that she's obviously also been able to capture within her market? And so, yeah, today's topic is talking, we're talking about bringing high quality honey to the world. And I certainly hope that she's definitely selling her honey to the world. And we're speaking to none other than Lisicho Sirulong Holzapfel. Interesting surname, but let's get to know her. Lisicho, how are you doing? I'm good, Mali. And thank you so much for having me, even, you know, and I'm honored that this is like your last year-end show. So it's such an honor to be here. Yeah, thank you actually for making the time during this holiday season. And I'm sure you obviously want to take a break, but as an entrepreneur, I'm sure, you know, every moment is a great opportunity to obviously speak about your business and educate some of us who know nothing about, you know, the honey making process. And particularly your industry. So tell us about Be Loved Honey. When did you start and are you a bee farmer producing honey or are you just on the third stage of the value chain? Yeah, no, thank you Mali. So I got started actually in agriculture. Actually, I got more interested in about, you know, 2014-15 when, you know, the issue of food in Africa was like a constant topic, just how much Africa imports versus the capabilities that we have. And so as part of my research, part of my goal has been a nice start of the charity 10 years ago. We offer scholarships to orphans from like remote rural areas. And so some of our scholarship are, you know, we take them to grade eight all the way to like grade 12 metric. Some of them are working for KPMG and they've been with us and the constant conversation has always been, can you also help, you know, extended family members and areas where we go, you know, these are like arid. Some places are not even on Google Maps, you know, and for me, this was like a light bulb moment where I was like, you have all this land and obviously it's communal land. You know, areas where a lot of our scholars are from and I'm like, why aren't we utilizing like communal land? And so it was like a long process of like engaging the chiefs and actually putting together a program that focuses on horticulture. And because it's arid and we had to obviously plant things that were like drought resistant, you know, like things like watermelon things that we're doing well. It's like always trial and error. What about instead so well, you know, as well as like tomatoes and bees were actually critical because you need bees for pollination. And I didn't know that. So my background is in social policy and entrepreneurship, you know, from the London School of Economics, but I'm like, you know, part of learning or getting into agriculture is working with people. You can't get into like an industry and work alone. So so that's my journey. I didn't study agriculture or anything, but I just knew that there's money to be made in the industry. And also there's a price to pay. And that's how we realized, you know, and that's how we realized that personally bees were this big. And I got into it and I realized that South Africa actually has production capacity of only 2000 tons, although we consume more than 5000 tons. And so the difference is obviously like imported and biggest challenge right now is it's food fraud and a lot of honey that's imported and it's blended. It's like fake. And so the challenges for consumers when you go to your sometimes your favorite retail store, you pick up honey from the shelf. You don't know. Like you just read the label assuming that it's honey. Sometimes we'd see that it's product of China or Zambia or there's like so many ores. And I and I and I saw that as an opportunity to actually one created an awareness around people consumers being able to like know where the honey comes from where their food comes from traceability is very important. But they're also using that as an opportunity to create, you know, income for secondary income for beekeepers. And so so so part of doing research, we realized that a lot of beekeepers were giving up because of the import prices were like too low. So for a regular beekeeper who sells their raw honey for 150 per kg or 180 per kg. It wasn't worth it when your competitor or the input was selling it for like 30 rendicage. So we actually are facing a huge decline of like beekeepers because of this. And I so wish that our government would actually be like other countries like New Zealand that are really trying to like promote beekeeping because it has a huge impact in terms of like income generation, especially in like, you know, rural areas where there's less chemicals that are being used. So so that's how we got started. And so we were obviously like helping. So I have a company called Bogamos of Food. So Bogamos of Food is a platform that helps farmers and and, you know, we also we do food processing. So we do other various food products. We do tea and coffee and other beverages and honey is one of our product as well. So we then realized that, you know, it would be so good to add honey packaging and processing into our our basket of offerings and working with small scale farmers. And we also decided to get involved in the entire value chain because we realized that there weren't many manufacturers of beehives out there. It was so hard for us to actually make hives like ourselves actually find the materials. So we actually make beehives. We provide training to incoming beekeepers and it's critical that beekeepers do well because there's a huge shortage of honey supply in the country. So it's in our best interest as well to make sure that, you know, the beekeepers do well. Yeah. So the beekeepers become part of our network as well. We also have our own hives in the Northwest province that we place in different fields like Lucer and sunflower. The best is acacia. So if you look at honey, that's that's getting like the highest price overseas. It's acacia honey because of its like unique properties and stuff and areas where we're working like in the Kalahari, for example, there's acacia trees like everywhere. And so this is like, well, you know, the way that I that we see it is like, oh my goodness, we could have hives everywhere. So that's where some of our honey comes from as well. So we have a factory. So we're like I said, we're involved in the entire value chain from building beehives to training beekeepers to literally, you know, processing. So we have like a factory. We build a new factory last year in the Northwest province in Daon, in the village of Daon, where we do all the processing of the honey. So for example, every beekeeper that buys our hive, we offer them like an offtake agreement for the honey that we buy as well as the wax. The wax that we buy because we reuse the wax to make frames. So yeah, so so in a nutshell, that that's our story. And for us, we just didn't want to have, you know, like a like like a honey product that's there. We wanted honey that really tells the African story. So when you buy our honey, it talks about, you know, where the honey comes from and the story of African beekeepers. And, you know, one of our long-term goals has always been, you know, we want to be on the shelves of like carrots. We want to be on whole foods or whatever. And we want to tell the real African story, you know, the powerful African story of high quality honey, great branding and its true empowerment. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So listen, I've heard Guruman, I've heard Daon. It sounds like very, very, I know Daon is quite also a remote area. Guruman, I've been to Guruman. So how do you talk about educating small scale rural farmers in those areas about the importance of beekeeping and preserving bees and making honey because we're obviously consuming more than we produce. Right. As opposed to not getting those same farmers to produce, you know, our typical cash crops like vegetables, you know, it could be like, you know, cabbage, spinach, which is a lot in demand, onions, potatoes, carrots or things like maize, which, you know, a lot of us as Africans consume. So how do you go about educating to these small scale farmers in very remote and outskirt areas about the importance of beekeeping and keeping the bee farming alive, you know, as opposed to not choosing the typical posh crop route. Yeah. So one of the things that we have learned because it's a process, right, is that we are integrating Indigenous knowledge because when you go to these areas, people have been doing beekeeping for like generations, for centuries. So I'm from a farming family in Daon. So my grandfather was like a farmer and did all sorts of like farming. And it's interesting because when you go to Daon in places like Burman, you know, the northern Cape, even the arid areas, like you're talking about like Khoi San people. So there's a drink that's called like Mead. It's fermented like honey drink. And so it's funny because during lockdown, the sales of Mead was like going up. So it's for you to make Mead. You actually use like a bark of a certain tree that you find like in the rural area. And then you mix honey. So they are all these like small honey entrepreneurs that we're actually engaging with. And what's so funny is that they don't wear, you know, the protective clothing when they go to the fields to get the honeycomb. They literally like go as they are. And their story is also like interesting. So that's also part of like our storytelling in our model as well, like integrating Indigenous knowledge, how they've been doing it. And also trying to bring them to, you know, our platform in a way that, you know, they don't feel like we're teaching, re-teaching them something like new. We're actually helping them to do things in a larger scale in a much cleaner way than they would generally do. So it's been very interesting. And, you know, unfortunately, people don't see beekeeping as something that like they don't have knowledge. People don't have knowledge about beekeeping, where to get started, your market, you know, offtake is like a huge thing, right? So even when you should be considered like a commercial beekeeper in South Africa, you need to have a minimum of like 200 hives. So for a lot of like, you know, people of colour in this country, they wouldn't like the industry so small that they wouldn't even know where to start. And that's been part of like our awareness where we're not just only, you know, teaching people the skills, but also to change some of the myths, you know, especially in the Eastern Cape. We have farmers in the Eastern Cape where the perception of bees to them is like ancestors. So how do you gently bring people into conversation and helping them see the business side of things without, and also while in dialect, without actually not being perceived as like coming in and sort of like telling them what to do. So there's a lot of work certainly that needs to be done, Bali, because if you look at, you know, the Americas, if you look at Europe, it's like the largest consumers of like honey, like in the world, and honey is like a like a billion dollar business. I mean, South Africa, I think spends more than 8 billion range just like in honey exports and stuff. So yeah, so I think, you know, that's why we also pair the education part of it because it's like critical and the network part of it, the support part of it, it's very critical. Is it safe to say that, you know, because it is in these remote areas and you've mentioned certain elements that, you know, in certain areas people see bees as a very spiritual, you know, and it's so ingrained in their culture. Does that mean then when you now start selling your honey, is it sold at a premium price because of the process that goes behind making that honey? Yeah, so we've always wanted to differentiate ourselves. So it's sold at a premium price, but it is affordable. So you would find it at like niche markets, so you would not find it at, you know, other retailers. But you will find it at like, you know, niche markets like in Cape Town and you can buy it online. And it's because it's not something that's like mass produced, you know, time has been taken to get the honey to where it is. Like there's a process, but also there's like profit, you know, there's profit that has to go to a farmer, right? So we're not trying to like squeeze the farmers, you know, we're selling currently, we're buying honey for like 70 KG, whereas some retailers are currently buying honey from farmers for like, you know, 40 rents, 30 rents. So that's why our prices are premium because, you know, there's a whole chain and we want the farmer to see the benefits. A question that I often don't ask here in the podcaster, and I'm just thinking about it now is, you know, we tend to focus a lot about the farmer, the agripreneur in the space, you know, obviously starting a business, trying to, you know, trying to create a product or a service, sell it to the market. So here you are, listen, how fond of being loved, honey, you're running a business, listen, at the end of the day, right? You have clients to maintain. How are you navigating the two ends of the spectrum? So running your business, but at the same time, having to support and mentor and teach and also manufacture some of the beehives that you're selling to the farmers. So when I say support, mentor, teach, et cetera, teaching the farmers and actually getting them to think commercially, I suppose, in some instance, you know, on the value that they could bring to your business. And at the same time, you still have your business to run. So how are you navigating all these various dynamics and challenges that you're faced with and still trying to maintain a profitable business at the end of the day? Yeah, so luckily, I have an amazing team. And I think it's very good to sort of like know your area, what you're good at in terms of like also your objective, like what we want to sell premium honey that tells, you know, the African story and sort of, so that's our, and then also the second part is we need to get all the honey volumes, right? So in order for us to get the honey volumes, we need to make sure that the farmers are doing well and there's like support, because obviously there's like, you know, demand and supply. So if supply is low, then we're like, we're out of business, essentially. And so one of the, one of the things that we do in our model is we partner with organizations that are looking to like sustainably like empower communities. So, and obviously, you know, owning a beehive provides you with like annuity income, you know, a lifespan of a beehive is about five years. And so, and that's because of like the wear and tear, it's, you know, it's always outside. And it's going to, you know, go to some of the challenges that we're facing. And so, and so, for example, for, for a year, beekeeper is looking at making a, making around or getting 30 kgs of like honey on average. And so with us, that's about, you know, 1,800 grand if you have like one hive. And so obviously if you have more, the more like the better. And that's how the honey business like goes, you need to reinvest and we encourage our beekeepers to reinvest. We work with organizations like the Mind Workers Development Agency. We're also about to launch an interesting program that we will announce and you will see that's focused on empowering female beekeepers inside it. And so, yeah. And so obviously these organizations then pay for women or beekeepers in remote areas to get all the training. We make money obviously from selling hives and providing training. We, you know, the organizations usually would pay for the training if beekeepers can't pay for the training themselves. But then we also have training as like a service that we provide. So individuals that are interested in beekeeping classes, you know, they come. And so where we are in Tawung, in Tawung, we also have accommodation like on site. So someone could do like a, you know, like a BNB we can experience where you learn all about beekeeping like one on one. And you get to have like the Hinton experience of like processing the honey and all of that. So we're trying to like balance the two by making, you know, every area profitable in a way, but also with like impact. Wow, that sounds amazing. And it sounds like such an interesting business to be in learning from various farmers of diverse backgrounds in various regions and so forth. So what goes into the honey making process post harvest? So we, because of quality control, we are very, very strict. We usually don't just take honey from beekeepers. We have to like go to the site and like inspect and like see because of the fraud that I mentioned earlier. Literally, you know, we've had cases where people would literally like to blend in like brown sugar. And I'm sure if you've watched the Cutter Blanch documentary, I think it was like it was aired last year. There were fasting, you know, some of these like fraudulent people in South Africa, sadly, that were doing this. So you need to keep a promise to the consumer as well. But you are able to, you're giving them what you're saying, you're giving them, you know. So for example, beekeepers that are like remote, we use a service called Puto. So these puto boxes you find at like gas, petrol stations and malls. I actually just saw one in the mall today. And so that's like a last mile, like a cheaper last mile, like delivery system that we've like implemented. Because for example, when beekeepers bring in their hives, not hives, when they bring in the frames and they have honeycomb, they put it in a, you know, in this plastic container that we provide them, they put it in a puto to get to us. It's going to cost them like 60 rounds and we're able, and that's up to like 20 to 25 kgs of honey that they can ship. And so once we've done the processing, we obviously tell them this is how much honey we processed, you know, from your frame. This is how much wax, you know, we process and then boom, you get your money in the account. And how are you selling your honey? Is it under a specific brand name and where are you selling to currently? You mentioned certain markets, but if you could please just expand a little on that. Yeah, so we're currently selling online. We've actually spent a lot of time sort of like branding ourselves, you know, from the image side to making sure that we have the certification. So, and we've deliberately taken time to like do that instead of just like rushing and putting, you know, packaging together. So we have our new branded bottles and boxes. So we're currently at a market in Cape Town called the Ranges Erte, we're online as well as people want to buy. We're also going to be in spas in the Western Cape. So ultimately, our goal is to export our honey abroad one because we believe that, you know, if we share the story and the importance of beekeeping in the African continent. And also the quality that people can expect from Africa, which is one of the things that we're fighting for, right? Just changing the narrative. And so we are busy with the export certification process right now with Ecosert. And we also we've just completed a German expert program with the GIZ. And yeah, we're talking with other people like overseas as well. So right now we're focusing on increasing our volumes but making sure that, you know, yeah, we're able to have sufficient volumes to export. That's fantastic. And why specifically export market when you're saying that locally, we are importing a lot more than we're consuming. So why don't you infiltrate the local market? Because we're obviously in shortage. I think it's, you know, with our price point, the import market, the local market can be a challenge because someone would expect to get your honey for the same price as like an imported honey. And, and, and, you know, and I don't blame the consumers because a lot of them they don't know, right? So they were like, I saw honey for 30 rent extor. And so, so, so yeah, so one of the big reason for us is, you know, selling price, what consumers are willing to buy it for. But also, South Africa, it's a big, it's a big but small economy as well. I mean, if you look at the world, like America, it's like a 300 million, whatever people pop, you know, country, you know, so we will literally be just like a drop, you know, and obviously we're gaining like currency when you're when you're selling overseas. And part of it is also to change the narrative around products that are coming from Africa. So every time I go to the US, I go to Europe, I hardly find products on the shelves that are from like made in Africa and they are really made by Africans. Do you know what I mean? And so, and so that's the big driver behind why we want to do what we're doing so that we see them on the shelves of those stores overseas telling our stories. Yeah, how easy or difficult was it to penetrate the market? Now, let's make it take it back to from a local perspective, you know, there's so many honey brands I consume honey. And yeah, I can think about a couple of brands that I bought, you know, for me, I've just never taken that huge interest to say this tastes different, this tastes different, you know, because for me is like, oh, honey is honey, it's sweet. But how difficult or easy was it to penetrate the market with so many brands on various retail stores or in the market? Yeah, and I think that what that's what formed part of, you know, the process for us like brand identity and where do we want to play, right? And and also studying consumer behavior. And obviously we're not doing it because consumers are doing this. I think more and more people are more interested in sustainability, knowing where the honey comes from or where the products, you know, if it's if it's you badly doing like, you know, green beans or you're doing cucumbers, right? People want to know who who is in Bali, you know, who I'm buying from, you know. And I think people are thinking about also connecting with like the individual or in a way supporting the entrepreneur. And so and I think that's what differentiates us because it's it's in our package, the story is in our packaging as well. If you go to our website, it's the story, it's the impact and giving people the opportunity to participate in something like meaningful. Yeah. Yeah. And what's your biggest cost list in your business, because I heard, obviously there's Guru Man, there's Dao, you know, you're getting those products into your facility in Dao and then now you're selling to the Western Cape. So is it safe to say that logistics is your biggest cost in this case? Yeah, so we've been trying to find ways to like cut cost hands. We introduced like the Pudo model, which is very, very cheap. And, you know, the Pudo boxes are in almost all remote rural areas in South Africa. So so that's been like a huge cost cut for us. And then I guess that the biggest cost for us has been in our packaging, you know. So when you're trying to reach a certain target market, or yeah, when you're targeting, you know, certain customers, you know, your packaging has to stand out. And we've deliberately taken time and put in resources to invest in our in our packaging. Like, you know, people just don't want to buy, you know, your juice or honey in this instance. And it's not, you know, like right now in December, we're all like entertaining. We have our cheeseboards there. And you just even though the honey looks great, you just don't want to bring that honey. You're like, yo. So, so, so yeah, we want to we want people to also feel good, you know, when they bring it out, they're like, yeah, like, yeah, it's there. I can imagine such a process because yeah, you know, you're thinking you're just taking honey, you're processing it, you're bottling it, you're sending it through. But there's so much that goes behind it, understanding consumer behavior, understanding the logistics model, and obviously branding, packaging and marketing that all goes into play. But it sounds like you've just made, you've reached quite a number of milestones as well. What, what announcements or success stories can you tell us around the beloved honey besides exports? Yeah, so we were shortlisted on the SAB Social Innovation Awards. For us, it was such a huge, you know, milestone for us. Because, you know, oftentimes people don't think about bees, you know, as something that has like impact, but if you think about food that's on your table, it's dependent on bees for like pollination, right. And not just food, but other industries as well, like cotton industry, it depends. So bees literally impact multiple industries. And, you know, beekeeping is not something that's huge like in South Africa. I mean, the fruit industry depends on beekeeping, literally, you know, like farming industry. So, and I think the sad part is that we are facing, like with Africa's growing population, we're facing a huge decline of honey bees because of pesticides, you know, and all these chemicals that are being used. So to your question earlier, you're like, you know, you're running a business, but also you're like creating like awareness. It's really tough. It's really tough because it's a serious problem, right. And Einstein says, you know, if honey bees were to be wiped from the face of the earth, humans would only have like four years to live, which goes to show that it's, it's important that we encourage more people to, you know, to save our honey bees. And yeah, and last year we managed to build our own honey processing factory, which was hard given, you know, COVID like we're still, you know, in the pandemic. But for me, particularly was super special because my dream has always been to build a factory closer to where the people are and to see our employees like walking to work. Given the South African history and context, it's so powerful. It is very powerful. And yeah, and, and I think also looking at German markets and talking to like customers overseas. It's such a huge milestone and it's not easy to be honest to to run a business. You know, to market your product, talk to customers and convince them why your product, right. And also to bring in that story. And you also learn to fight. I mean, you're an entrepreneur, like it's not a smooth sale, but you don't give up. You keep knocking on those doors and you never know. Absolutely. So it's definitely tough times for an African entrepreneur, especially one in South Africa, because you're trying to grow a business, create employment, make money also for yourself, realize your dream. But then there's so many social economic factors that we still also have to deal with, you know, in our communities, whether it's rural or urban. And there's so many roadblocks and challenges that we also have to, you know, go over. But listen, where can we find your, your honey? And just maybe just you mentioned you sell a lot online, but maybe you could share some your social media pages, your website where people could buy online. Yeah, so people can buy it on our website. It's www.belovedhoney.africa. So we have like an online store there. And then on our social media, Twitter and Instagram, you can find us. So it's www.belovedhoney.africa. Yeah, and you can follow me. I usually have, you know, things buzzing going on related to keeping and stuff on my personal page. Instagrams, Liseho Sorolong holds up for, or just Liseho Sorolong. I know half of my family members can still pronounce my surname, even though it's been like 15 years. Wow. Thank you so much, Liseho, for your time this evening. I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. You reminded me just what we as entrepreneurs go through, you know, and also just the importance around beekeeping as a farmer, I know it. But you really emphasise that point, you know, and it's quite interesting to see that we're all integrated, you know, you're obviously selling a honey product, but there's bees involved as a vegetable farmer. I definitely need bees, you know, fruits, etc. So it's definitely a topic that we don't often visit or discuss. You know, as farmers, it's always forgotten. We're always talking about the market prices and fresh produce and the rise in fuel and the impact thereof, etc. But you definitely reminded me of how important bees are. And yeah, thank you so much for your effort, for your business and for obviously educating us around the world of bees and obviously bringing a product, a premium product that is to our shelves, but also with the story behind it. Yeah, I appreciate it so much. And I draw inspiration from you as well, like being a female farmer out there. It's not easy, but I think for a lot of young people looking at you and even a possibility of being involved in agriculture, it's huge. So yeah, so thank you so much for that. And a huge shout out to Nditi as well. I know you were part of the conference. And yeah, and you know, females like you in our continent are really like amazing. So thank you so much. Oh, thank you so much, Lesucho. I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation on all the best with your business. Hopefully you can come back next year and tell us about this surprise that you have in store. And we obviously love hearing success stories as well. And just how businesses have obviously grown throughout the months or the very difficult years. So all the best for that. No, thank you so much. And Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Same to you. That was Lesucho Sir along holes up fell found of be loved honey and she was telling us about a business that she started and the various regions that she's operating with more so a manufacturing plant that she's she has in Dowung. And I think you're, you know, starting a business, you're not isolated as an entrepreneur. There's a whole community that you need to be involved with to get your product going. And in her case, she's working alongside beekeepers, the small scale rural beekeeping farmers, but also educating them on the importance of PPE, looking after themselves as much as they look after their bees, and obviously also getting the quality that is needed. So a huge shout out to her for obviously uplifting our communities, but also telling us the stories because, you know, indigenous knowledge doesn't come by as easily. Or, you know, we don't hardly talk about it. But yeah, if you want to follow. Lesucho, she mentioned all their social media handles of be loved honey. I think it's www.be loved honey dot Africa. That's where they sell their honey online going to support a proudly South African brand. And yeah, I think let's get it in each and every one of our households this December and give her feedback, you know, but just know that when you're buying be loved honey, you're also supporting many, many communities out there. So thank you so much for your time this evening for watching us catch this episode on our YouTube channel, the private property YouTube channel under the farming podcast. This is episode 115 and happy holidays to you and I'll see you on the next episode of the farming podcast. Take care.