Beekeeping collective creates a buzz with move to food and drink innovation centre

B Corp certified British beekeeping collective Black Bee Honey is the latest food brand to call on the expertise and state-of-the-art trial kitchen at The Food WorksSW, the food and drink innovation centre in North Somerset.

The Somerset-based ‘flower to jar’ honey brand which is available to buy on Ocado, Amazon and in Holland & Barrett, worked with Food WorksSW new product development and innovation manager Zoe Plant to develop a new hot honey recipe, following the growing demand by consumers for this latest sauce trend.

The Food WorksSW provided Black Bee Honey with advice and guidance on food safety and implementing the correct processes to develop the product.

Black Bee Honey was started by beekeepers Paul Webb and Chris Barnes who met in an office 20 years ago but left their design jobs for the rooftops and gardens of London where they cared for over a million bees and established the brand.

Webb said: “We needed somewhere to trial our new product and Food WorksSW was ideal. After a tour at the centre, we were introduced to Blagdon-based Uncle Paul’s Chilli Charity and decided to use a variety of their fresh chillies. We then hired the trial kitchen and worked with Zoe to test and develop different honeys and chillies to get the perfect combination of flavour, heat and sweetness. Zoe has masses of experience in food and new product development, which is invaluable, and the facilities provided exactly what we needed to develop an exciting new product that we now plan to produce in large quantities.”

Created by North Somerset Council and operated by the Future Food Partnership CIC, a not-for-private-profit Community Interest Company, The Food WorksSW provides start-ups, established companies and hospitality businesses with the experience and equipment they need to grow and innovate. Located in Weston-super-Mare, less than 30 minutes from Bristol, the centre is the only one in the South West.

The Food WorksSW features five specialist development kitchens with state-of-the-art equipment, 12 food grade business units, in-house technical experts, a business lounge and coffee shop (open to all businesses), meeting room and conference facilities and hosts multiple industry training and seminar events throughout the year. The development kitchens are available for flexible short-term contract hire for food and drink businesses of all sizes, along with the meeting room and conference facilities.

Technical support packages are also available at the centre and are designed to help businesses navigate their way through a range of food disciplines – from new product development and scale up to food safety and efficiency.

The centre has also recently announced its first ever partnership opportunity that will give businesses the chance to support the team, provide advice and guidance to both existing and emerging food and drink brands, and become an integral part of the country’s food, drink and hospitality scene.

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