DETROIT – A Detroit company that keeps bees and harvests honey is taking a stab at a billion-dollar industry.
Timothy Jackson and Keith Crispen are the owners of Detroit Hives, a bee company on Detroit’s east side.
"When we first acquired it, there were tons of trash, tons of debris, you name it,” Jackson said.
But he said it was a deal they couldn't pass up on.
"The total price tag was $340,” Jackson said.
On Monday, Local 4 got an up-close-and-personal look at the property, but unfortunately Mother Nature forced the bees inside.
"It’s not safe to go inside the hive in these cold climates right now,” Jackson said.
“What we do is take students through an educational program, but also teach them the main aspects of social entrepreneurship,” Crispen said.
It’s an idea that has blossomed over the last year or so. Crispen said keeping bees and using the honey is a popular business -- so popular they won’t have any honey to sell until spring.
"The industry around honey bees right now in this country is somewhere between ($2 to $3.5 billion),” Crispen said.
In a short time, they have already partnered with several companies here in Detroit.
“Slow’s BBQ, Detroit’s Wick is taking our harvested beeswax and make the beeswax into candles, in addition to changing and countering the fear of honey bees,” Crispen said.
The idea of the company started when Jackson was sick with a cold. The doctor recommended he eat some local honey to fight the local allergies.
The rest of the story is history.