Buzzing business: Sweet new venture spreads honey and wings

Toowoomba’s hive for start-up businesses is buzzing and you could say one sweet new venture is the ‘bees knees.’

BUZZING BUSINESS: Excited about what the future holds after launching new Toowoomba business Hope Honey are owners Tony and Kristina Duff with their baby daughter Rebekah Duff. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Toowoomba’s hive for start-up businesses is buzzing and you could say one sweet new venture is the ‘bees knees.’

With a passion for agriculture for as long as they can remember Kristina and Tony Duff have had a dream to harvest their own raw honey since the pair first began dating.

Now husband and wife, the couple have made their ideas a reality and recently launched their new Toowoomba business Hope Honey.

“We had a vision to together steward and care for our colonies, package the beautiful raw honey straight from our hives and share the flower to bee journey with others,” Kristina said.

“Hope Honey provides an opportunity for us to share our apiculture journey with others and enables us to highlight the pure, raw and seasonal honey that bees share with us.”

After meeting a beekeeper at a party years ago, Tony was fascinated by the concept and soon began sharing his new-found passion for bees and honey with Kristina.

“The conversation sparked my interest in bees and honey and within a year I had my first hive,” Tony said.

“My passion for beekeeping has only grown since – I’ve now been able to share with my wife and together we’re hoping to share it with our children and others.”

BUZZING BUSINESS: Excited about what the future holds after launching new Toowoomba business Hope Honey are owners Tony and Kristina Duff with their baby daughter Rebekah Duff. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Since these humble beginnings the couple have been caring for their apiary Hope Honey for many years and now want to share its benefits with the community.

“We wanted to share the distinct flavours each season brings with the different food sources (flora) our bees feed on,” Kristina said.

“Our honey is pure, raw and seasonal which means no added ingredients – just pure honey straight from our bees.

“Food sources for our bees make different honey varieties – like grey ironbark and macadamia – which change as the flowers bloom and most flora are only available during specific times of the year.”

The couple said by sharing their honey journey, they hope to showcase the role bees have in pollination and food security for the planet.

“We care for our hives so that they can thrive and fulfil their important role in pollination and producing honey,” Tony said.

“There’s a growing concern over the imported honey that’s being stocked on supermarket shelves and the implications this might have on beekeeping in Australia.

“Honey is a small, sweet benefit that the bees share with us … we’re blessed to be on this journey, caring for our hives and hope that we can bless others not only with our honey, but also by sharing the wonder that we have for bees and how they work within creation.”

The small business owners are in the process of developing their website and plan to expand the start-up venture overtime.

But it’s not just the business that’s growing – the couple also welcomed a baby girl named Rebekah in March.

Hope Honey is now available to purchase from Sage and Butler Cafe.

The product comes in three different sizes, in either glass or plastic packaging and prices start from $8.50.

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