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In this very special episode of All About Business, James Reed is joined by his wife Nicola, Founder of the successful drinks company, Beeble.
Nicola shares how she turned her husband’s birthday gift into a thriving business, the ups and downs of bootstrapping a company with her daughter’s friend as well as some rather disturbing facts about her bee colony.
Nicola is an artist, teacher, beekeeper and entrepreneur. She owns Beeble, a B-Corp that makes a wide variety of spirits with honey from her very own hives. Nicola has a Master's degree in Fine Art from St Martin's School of Art, a PGDip from Chelsea College of Arts and a teaching degree from University College London.
01:37 Introduction
02:27 Nicola Reed's Beekeeping Journey
04:43 Turning Honey into Spirits
07:45 The Beeble Brand and Business Growth
13:22 Balancing Business and Passion for Bees
23:54 Insights and Lessons from Beekeeping
27:07 Beekeeping Courses and Techniques
28:31 Personal Experiences with Bee Stings
30:39 The Undertaker Bee and Bee Communication
32:49 Challenges in the Spirit Business
36:11 Marketing Strategies and Customer Feedback
41:36 Beekeeping in Prisons
43:17 The Joys and Challenges of Beekeeping
46:03 Future Plans for Beeble
48:25 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Try Beeble’s delicious honey whisky: https://beeble.buzz/
Take a beekeeping course: https://beeble.buzz/collections/beekeeping-courses/products/the-beeble-idler-beekeeping-day-22nd-april-2023
Follow Nicola on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicola-arkell-reed-32034027/
Follow James Reed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chairmanjames/
[00:00:00] James: Today on All About Business, I have a very special guest. In the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that Nicola Reid is my wife. We
[00:00:09] Nicola: have scout bees, guard bees, nurse bees, foraging bees. They're part of this incredible ecosystem. They've been on this planet for over 60 million years. What I love is that they go about their business, but they leave every flower as they found it.
They do no damage to our environment.
[00:00:29] James: Beekeeping isn't predictable is it?
[00:00:31] Nicola: At this time of year, the male bees, which are called drones, go back to the hive and the worker bees, who are all female, kill them and throw them in front of the hive because they can't feed them. That's
[00:00:43] James: shocking. I thought bees were nice.
[00:00:46] Nicola: I had more honey than I knew what to do with, so I thought I'd take it to local markets and sell it. No one wanted to pay 10 for a pot of my liquid gold. So I put all the frames into a big saucepan of [00:01:00] whiskey and left them for a month, filtered the honeyed whiskey and put it into little medicinal bottles, took it back to the farmer's markets and it literally flew out the door.
[00:01:11] James: You've been exceptional at not giving up with certain retailers and big companies where they originally said no thank you very much.
[00:01:18] Nicola: There were lots of issues to think about. You can't mass produce honey in the way that you can mass produce whiskey.
[00:01:26] James: You started your business in your 50s and you know some people listening might be thinking I'm past that stage of life where I'd be thinking about starting a business.
What would you say to them? Welcome to all about business with me, James Reid, the podcast that covers everything about business management and leadership. Every episode, I sit down with different guests of bootstrap companies, masterminded investment models, built a business empire, their leaders in their field, and they're here to give you top insights and actionable advice so that you can apply their [00:02:00] ideas to your own career or business venture
for many business owners. Bootstrapping seems like an appealing growth model. You don't have to answer to investors, and you can take pride in knowing that you did it on your own. But there are challenges too. How can you survive those lean early years while still driving growth and revenue? Joining me today on All About Business is Nicola Reid.
Nicola is the founder of Beeble, a bee call that makes spirits from honey produced by her bees. An artist, teacher, and philanthropist, Nicholas started Beeble later in life. Together with her business partner Matt, she's grown it into a successful drinks company, loved by many.
Well, today on All About Business, I have a very special guest. And, [00:03:00] uh, in the interest of full disclosure, I should tell you that Nicola Reid is my wife, my wonderful wife, Nicola, and I'm so excited to talk to her today about her business, Beeble, because I know the story and I know you're going to find it fascinating because Nicola started this business in her kitchen in her fifties and has made it into a great success.
And Nicola, I'm so pleased you're here to share your story with us. So to begin, I, I, I saw in the notes prepared by our producer, Frankie, that it said beginnings. I thought that was rather good. So the beginnings of your beekeeping and business journey, could you tell us what happened?
[00:03:42] Nicola: Thank you for having me, James.
I'm very chuffed to be here. I, um, well, it all began a great friend of mine and yours, Tanya, uh, wanted to give you a beehive for your 50th birthday. She wanted it to be a [00:04:00] secret and I was very excited about this and, but I thought I would just warn you a few days before it arrived, um, a nucleus of bees and your beekeeping outfit and your bee tool.
I thought I'd just give you a little bit of warning. And when I told you, you were slightly horrified because you have a horse and you didn't think having bees And a horse was a good idea. So I
[00:04:25] James: Well, you can see why. I didn't want to fall off every other opportunity. So to
[00:04:30] Nicola: keep our friendship intact Yours and Tanya's, really.
Yeah, I thought I would, um, try and, uh, convince you to allow me to have the bees, which you did. And I found a course in the Cotswolds, which I went on, and all was solved. I went on this beekeeping course for a weekend, and the moment the beekeeper, the instructor, took the lid off the hive, [00:05:00] the hum of the bees and the smell of the wax just, um, made me know that I wanted to keep bees.
And the rest is history, really. I One hive became two hives and we produced lots of honey. I got a really lovely guy locally to help me in the beginning too. And, um, I had more honey than I knew what to do with. So I thought I'd take it to local markets and sell it. And I was very upset that people just didn't understand.
Don't, didn't seem to realize that, uh, bee takes, um, it's whole life to make half a teaspoon full of honey. And, uh, no one wanted to pay ten pounds for a pot of my liquid gold. And, uh, so I just wondered about how to make the honey go further. And I, um, was fiddling around the kitchen [00:06:00] and I had lots of frames that I'd taken the honey off originally.
And I thought, um, what can I do, uh, rather than just rinse them and waste the honey. So I put all the frames into a big saucepan of whiskey and left them for a month. And then I had, um, I have a great friend who, who, works for Blue Sky Botanics and I rang her up and they, um, supply all the essence to, for fever tree and she passed me on to somebody who sold me a filter which I then, um, filtered the honeyed whiskey and put it into little medicinal bottles and gave it to friends for Christmas and this was And, um, it, uh, kitchen looked like a science lab, but the actual product tasted really delicious.
And I took it back to the farmer's markets and it [00:07:00] literally flew off the door,
[00:07:01] James: flew out of the door. So, so people began kind of by accident.
[00:07:06] Nicola: Yeah, I guess it was, it was a happy accident. And your,
[00:07:09] James: your sort of insight was these bees aren't getting value for money. You know, they work so hard, they commit all their lifetime to the production of honey and they make just a teaspoonful and people don't pay enough for that or appreciate it.
So by putting it with the whiskey, you made it go a lot further. Yeah, exactly. Which is good for the bees and it's good for the business. I, I guess, yeah. So, okay. So you'd landed upon this product which people liked, which had given them. For Christmas, but that's not a business is it? I mean people make slow gin and stuff like that and give it to them So what made you think about making this into a business?
I mean it was a hobby, but it's obviously become much more than that
[00:07:45] Nicola: well, it was I was gonna say the equivalent of a hobby really and I started selling it in these little medicinal bottles 20cl and It was [00:08:00] A friend of our daughter's, uh, Matthew, uh, Brower approached me and he said, um, I've had a, bought a bottle of Beeble at, um, a party and, uh, it was, it's absolutely delicious.
And, um, have you ever thought of making this into a business? And I, uh, I said, well, I've, I've thought about it, but, um, at the moment it's just a hobby. And he said, well, may I see your accounts? And he's an accountant, successful accountant. And, um, so I agreed to show him, uh, my accounts. Uh, but I put that off because my accounts were in a shoe box under my bed, but finally he persuaded me to show him, um, we had a meeting and he said, well, this is clearly a hobby, shall we make this into a business?
And, um, I remember, uh, Cheryl [00:09:00] Sandberg said, um, if you're offered a seat on a rocket ship, don't ask which seat and I felt like that. I felt so excited that he wanted to help me make people into a business. So we agreed that we would have, um, we would share people as a business and, and, and set it up. And, uh, that's how it began.
[00:09:23] James: So you, you described yourselves as the beekeeper and the bookkeeper, didn't you?
[00:09:27] Nicola: That's right.
[00:09:28] James: Because he was the accountant and you were the honey producer.
[00:09:31] Nicola: Yeah.
[00:09:31] James: That's how you started. And then you grew this business quite successfully, but it's interesting to me because you're different generations, he's a friend of your daughters, you're, you know, different backgrounds and walks of life, but you made common cause on Has that Did that surprise you that he made that suggestion?
I mean, I mean, it seems to me listening to you, you're very open to sort of ideas, which is part of your [00:10:00] success, I think. And he said, what about making this into business? You thought, well, I'll think about that rather than what it's a hobby.
[00:10:05] Nicola: Yeah, I think we came to the business from very different, um, skill sets.
So, uh, I trained at St. Martin's. And
[00:10:14] James: what's
[00:10:15] Nicola: that? St. Martin's art school. And I, uh, historically I'm, uh, well, I trained as a teacher and I've always taught art and Matt had He worked, uh, he went to Bristol, he went to Durham, trained to be an accountant and was working for an accountancy firm. So we, we came from, you know, extremely different, um, skill sets and I think we've taught each other a great deal.
And I, um, feel that we, we made a great team and I was very excited to be in the team. I've never worked in a team before. And Matt, um, taught me a lot about, uh, how to read a spreadsheet and, uh, basic [00:11:00] accounts. And I think, I hope I taught him, um, the, you know, the, um, importance of quality and of, um, creativity and, uh, all about bees.
[00:11:15] James: We're delighted that you're watching this episode. Please hit the subscribe button if you'd like to receive more insights and actionable advice that will help your business and your career. So this is a good match, isn't it? Because, you know, part of what made this initiative possible was finding a partner that brought very distinct and different skills to the party, Matt.
Brought something you didn't have? Yeah. His expertise.
[00:11:42] Nicola: So for instance, I had asked my daughter to draw a bee and we used the bee, uh, that Tabitha drew for the branding. And
[00:11:51] James: so this is here, this is on our book. And this
[00:11:53] Nicola: is, this is the bee.
[00:11:54] James: So your daughter Tabar drew that?
[00:11:57] Nicola: Yes. Our daughter our daughter.
[00:11:58] James: Yeah. And, and [00:12:00] people have been really complimentary about the branding and it's got a wonderful simplicity. Almost naivety to it.
[00:12:06] Nicola: Yeah.
[00:12:07] James: But you, you and Tabard did that together.
[00:12:09] Nicola: Yeah, and I think initially Matt felt that it was a bit naive and, uh, not in tune or in line with other spirit brands. So we, um, hired a branding firm to come in and, uh, help us with the branding.
We, we did a kind of 360, uh, process of, uh, looking at different. Drawings of bees and uh, that's what
[00:12:32] James: happens when you get someone to professionalize your business in it But then you ended up and we ended up right back
[00:12:37] Nicola: where we started which um could have
[00:12:40] James: saved a few bob
[00:12:40] Nicola: yeah, which was fascinating to me and um, but I think it's been a very valuable experience to Uh work with someone who's much younger had very different ideas He wanted to grow the business um [00:13:00] in in a less organic artisanal craft way and um, and we fell out a few times, but but basically I think we've um, we've done really well working together and We went from not only making with honey whiskey, but honey rum honey vodka and honey tequila
[00:13:21] James: All right.
So you you mentioned that you had a different view on the strategy He had a view of growing it more aggressively perhaps than you did and you had a view that you wanted to keep True to its origins of organic and artisanal. Is that right?
[00:13:36] Nicola: That's exactly right.
[00:13:37] James: So so how did you how did you? Come to resolve that difference
[00:13:43] Nicola: Well, I think it In hindsight.
You
[00:13:46] James: won, didn't you?
[00:13:48] Nicola: Well,
[00:13:48] James: what happened? It
[00:13:49] Nicola: became quite, I think I was. I think
[00:13:52] James: the people who drink it will be pleased to hear that. Because it is organic and artisanal.
[00:13:55] Nicola: Yeah, I was possibly, uh, a little bit emotional [00:14:00] and, um, possibly Matt was too. But, um, I think in the end he realised that, uh, bees, you can't mass produce honey in the way that you can, um, mass produce whiskey.
And so that we were restrained from that, that we, we had to think, um, what to do because, um, you know, you can't go from one hive to 2000 hives, uh, easily. So, uh, there were lots of issues to think about and we, uh, we did go through, down the path of becoming, um, a, a website for all things. It's to do with bees and then I could see that um, we couldn't be a master of all trades and the spirit business, I think, stopped taking us seriously because suddenly we were selling hand [00:15:00] creams and aprons with bees and all sorts of other items to do with bees and honey.
And, um, so we pared back and, um, reviewed our strategy and decided to become a business. a spirit's business.
[00:15:18] James: You've come over, Nicholas, absolutely, I would say devoted to your bees and passionate about your bees. And it feels to me that that is so central to the success of your business. And it's, Really way more important to you than making money or growing it at a certain percentage rate or achieving some sort of multiple of earnings so you can sell it.
But you've had conversations with Matt where you've, I could hear have had differences. How'd you get that right? Or what's, uh,
[00:15:54] Nicola: Yeah, I'd like to say that we're profit making and I'm excited about that. And I'd [00:16:00] be depressed if we weren't, so that is important to me, but I think, uh, telling people about bees, helping people to, uh, encouraging people to have a hive, encouraging people to plant up their gardens for bees, looking after the environment is, has been a huge factor for me.
And, uh, So yeah, the environment has been a drive. I always think if you, if you start a business and it's just about the money, it's never as successful as if you start a business where there's passion about something, whether it's a product or, um, or teaching someone something, I think it, it, it makes it, uh, fly.
[00:16:46] James: So your experience in earlier life as a teacher and an artist and a mother has all come together in a way. Here you'll become an advocate for bees and for nature.
[00:16:58] Nicola: Exactly. And
[00:16:59] James: a business [00:17:00] leader at the same time as a result. Yeah. Which is, um, is I think an inspiring message for people because the business is not about making money.
It's about solving people's problems, delivering products that they love and,
[00:17:14] Nicola: and a sharing, you know, that I've enjoyed being a beekeeper so much. And it's something that everyone can do. And teaching people that
[00:17:22] James: so if you want to keep bees
[00:17:24] Nicola: Then you must come on our idol beekeeping course on the 3rd of may And there'll be another one later in the year too And that's all on our website to see
[00:17:34] James: Fantastic because the more beekeepers are all the better and the more people who drink beeble the more bees will be
[00:17:39] Nicola: exactly There's a
[00:17:41] James: shameless plug for your product It's a really interesting journey that many business people recognize when you sort of experiment you try something It doesn't work perhaps and you end up focusing And you're focused on the spirit side of what you do And you now have four Different [00:18:00] drinks.
[00:18:00] Nicola: Yes. So we have
[00:18:01] James: which is the most popular.
[00:18:02] Nicola: Well, the whiskey is the most popular and Another thing that well one thing that happened with the whiskey was when you filter the whiskey it leaves a Uh, a sediment of essentially pollen in in the whiskey, and you can see that through the glass bottle, and, uh, I felt that we needed to, uh, filter that out, and Matt argued that with me that the sediment was advantageous, and actually, we should, uh, embrace that, and, um, sell that as part of being special, like, orange juice with bits, if you like.
And, um, and I disagreed, but actually Matt was completely right about that. And I think it does add to, um, the artisanal brand that it has these, um, particles in it that are really actually very good for you [00:19:00] because they're essentially pollen. So the whisky is the most popular and we get that from a distillery in Scotland in Macleod in Perthshire and the second most popular is the rum and the rum is from Trinidad and, um, it's, I think it pairs beautifully with honey and this is the rum bottle here with the blue bead.
And the vodka, which, um, actually in a way is my favorite because, uh, vodka, I think is such a harsh drink alone. And with the softness of the honey, it, um, is just delicious. Um, with soda water, you don't have to put a mixer with it. And that's what I love about all of the products that actually, um, you don't have to put a fattening mixer with any of them because they have a natural sweet.
Sweetness to them and our latest, um, product is, um, our people tequila in the black [00:20:00] bottle and that, uh, is, um, from Jalisco in, um, Mexico and we get that from a very small family run distillery there. And, uh, from blue agave, um, and plant and, and, uh, that's sent over here and then we infuse it here with Wiltshire honey.
[00:20:25] James: So Nicola, I hope you don't mind me saying, but you started your business in your fifties and some people listening might be thinking, well, it's too late or I'm past that stage of life where I'd be thinking about starting a business. What would you say to them?
[00:20:42] Nicola: Well, I remember I've only been to Japan once, but I, uh, spoke to a woman there who said that typically if you, when you retire in Japan, age about 60, you learn a language and a new language.
And I felt really inspired by that because, uh, it [00:21:00] just felt like a really optimistic, great thing to do at quite a, an old age. And, um, And I think if you have a passion Uh, you should follow it and I found beekeeping and thought yeah, I really I really want to do this and I don't think age should ever hold you back and it's you know, if you have a passion you've got to If there's a book you want to write write it if there's a business you want to start start it and uh, It just does not matter what age you are
[00:21:33] James: That's a very good message so so
Is there any sort of, um, you know, excuse for people who are older? You're saying just get on with it, really. But, which I think is right. But, do you see people making excuses? Do you come across people saying, you know, I'm not going to do that because X, Y, and Z.
[00:21:59] Nicola: I think [00:22:00] that's right, but it's always just about confidence.
And I think that's why Matthew was brilliant, because he gave me the confidence because he was so excited to, uh, to be on the journey with me. So, uh, I was lucky that Matthew found me. But I. Think that you you know, if you have a passion you should follow your dream and you should make it happen
[00:22:30] James: That's so interesting.
But also maybe look for other people who have share that passion. Yeah,
[00:22:34] Nicola: exactly
[00:22:35] James: Because you can support each other and energize each other and you're never too
[00:22:39] Nicola: old
[00:22:40] James: You're never too old.
[00:22:41] Nicola: Yeah, no,
[00:22:42] James: you're a long way from being old, but it's sort of interesting that you know started in the second half of our lives Starting a business should absolutely be on the agenda for people.
[00:22:51] Nicola: Yeah, I absolutely agree
[00:22:54] James: So these are, forgive the pun, flying off the shelves, these drinks.
[00:22:57] Nicola: Yes, they are. So the
[00:22:58] James: tequila's new, uh, and I [00:23:00] think it's very good in the free, you put it in the freezer and it's very nice as a little shot, isn't it?
[00:23:05] Nicola: Yeah, so originally we were mainly in farm shops and, uh, Matt and I had to face lockdown, which was, uh, a real challenge for our business.
Um, uh, obviously furlough really helped us and, uh, Um, but, and it also, uh, never waste a crisis. We used that time to develop our business online and, um, and started to really build a presence online and a, a much better website than we have before. And, uh, so now I think we're in over 250 farm shops and, uh, we sell an equal amount online.
[00:23:44] James: What's your online address?
[00:23:46] Nicola: Beeble Buzz. Very good.
[00:23:50] James: So what have you learned from the bees?
[00:23:54] Nicola: What have I learned from the bees? What I love particularly about [00:24:00] bees is that they go about their business but they leave every flower as they found it and you never get a clumsy bee. Here they go and they collect the pollen and they're part of this incredible ecosystem But they do no damage to our environment and, uh, and I think when you're looking after bees, beekeepers often say to me, you know, how, what, how do you look after bees?
And, and I, I feel that actually they can look after themselves. They've been on this planet for over 60 million years and we, we have so much to learn from them. And every time I look at a hive, I am just astounded by all of the little bees have different jobs and watching them waggle dance, for instance.
So a bee waggle dances to [00:25:00] show where the best, um, forage lies to the other bees by doing a little dance, um, in the air. And, um, you have scout bees, guard bees, nurse bees, foraging bees. They all have Different jobs and they're quite OC dbs. So when they go out foraging and they bring back pollen, they put all of the different granules and the different colors of pollen into the different hexagons.
So you can see poppy pollens black and rapy pollens yellow, and they're all in different hexagons making these beautiful flower arrangements of color. Um. Yeah, I could go on for hours about how much I keep going.
[00:25:42] James: It's so interesting. So that the, the, um, I didn't know that they put the different colored pollen in different hexagons, I guess.
And the hexagon is their sort of motif, isn't it? Because that's their shape. These created it almost, but it's no hexagon mathematically the strongest shape.
[00:25:58] Nicola: Yes, that's exactly right.
[00:25:59] James: [00:26:00] So somehow nature, they've worked this out. They also work hard. Don't they bees
[00:26:05] Nicola: work extremely hard and, uh, I admire them so much for that.
[00:26:12] James: We say if the sun's out, you know, your bees are at work. You just need the sun to come out. And you are also a bee core.
[00:26:19] Nicola: Yes.
[00:26:21] James: Well, why? And what's that about?
[00:26:23] Nicola: Well, it's, uh, I think it's just a way to, uh, to show the outside world that we, um, really respect, um, the way we, uh, the way we, um, make our products and we, we really want to look after our environment and make sure that we've thought through, for instance, where we got our tequila from or our whiskey or rum and, um, that we're, you know, [00:27:00] We have a good set of ethics.
[00:27:02] James: So it's a, it's a reassurance for your customers. Yeah. Along with hopefully a delicious product.
[00:27:07] Nicola: Yeah. And for our team too.
[00:27:09] James: So, and is that important in terms of recruiting as well to people joining you like the fact that you're a beak or is it relevant to them?
[00:27:15] Nicola: I think so. And we also run, um, in collaboration with the idler, we run beekeeping courses.
Last year, we think we ran three beekeeping courses, uh, to teach how to keep bees. And we have different beekeepers who, uh, use different systems, um, We have one beekeeper, uh, Bill Anderson, who, um, has written a book, The Idle Beekeeper, and he runs a system called the Worry System, which is very uninvasive, and it's basically, um, emulating a cavity in a tree, and You, you don't go [00:28:00] into the hive, um, as, uh, the custodian, you literally just leave the bees and take some honey once a year, but otherwise you just let the bees, um, get on with, uh, their work.
And, um, and we teach that system and, uh, um, we, I think we've run it for 13 years now, even, but we, I ran it, um, before people Yeah
[00:28:31] James: So I've got to ask you because people want to know have you been stung?
[00:28:36] Nicola: I've only ever been stung when I've been careless And, um, yeah, what does careless look like? I left my BC open.
Uh, I just hadn't fully closed my BC and a bee got into my seat and stung me. And then I also squished a bee between my knees by accident. [00:29:00] And, um, but I have a strong belief that my bees know who I am. And I, I dropped a super whole tray. I was actually fooled with bees, uh, last year by accident, just because I'm slightly clumsy.
And, uh, I was expecting all of the bees to react. Um, and I was scared for the first time. There were literally 30, 000 bees that came straight out. And, but I could really feel them, uh, just thinking, Oh, for God's sake, she just Dropped us on the floor and they all went straight back into the soup and didn't her again.
So it's her again. Yeah So you have
[00:29:42] James: a rapport with them you're saying?
[00:29:43] Nicola: Yeah, I think I do there was one incident a couple of years ago i'd taken honey a couple of times during the summer and I was um Just looking at the hives and I was just thinking Maybe I'll [00:30:00] take a little bit more honey. Late autumn, uh, all of the hives felt very, very heavy, and they felt as though they had a lot of honey for winter.
And I thought, maybe I'll just take a little bit more. And I was just thinking about it, when three bees, in a little line, just darted down to my ankle and stung me. And it was really just leave us
[00:30:21] James: alone they were telling you I
[00:30:22] Nicola: remember thinking oh, okay, I won't But it really felt as though they knew that I was Just thinking about taking a little bit more honey and I was being possibly and since
[00:30:35] James: then you've been really well behaved and everyone's gone I'm, fine.
Is that
[00:30:38] Nicola: exactly?
[00:30:39] James: So nickly you've just been through a remarkable list of the different types of b books One that I remember maybe because I'm a little morbid but was there's also I believe an undertaker be
[00:30:53] Nicola: you're absolutely right James and At this time of year The male [00:31:00] bees which are called drones go back to the hive And they've been drinking with their mates in trees and waiting for the queen having a nice summer Having a nice summer they come back to the hive because it's getting a bit cold And the worker bees who are all female can't accommodate all of the drones for the winter So they pull off their wings and they kill them and throw them in front of the hive Because they can't feed them Through the winter there's too many drones
[00:31:30] James: That's shocking I thought bees were nice
This is what happens to the poor drones Interesting so and you you there's a tradition in there of talking to bees talk to me about that.
[00:31:47] Nicola: Yeah, I think Historically people have always told the bees what's going on in their lives and There is something very therapeutic about [00:32:00] bees and, uh, the, the queen speaks to her colony through pheromones and you can feel that you can feel whether there's a strong queen or when the queen hasn't got so much power in her hives.
And I think there's something about the pheromones around a hive that, uh, I think we could possibly and they're very calming and encouraging and, uh, I find myself talking to my bees and I do tell them and when our daughter got married this summer just felt this urge to go and tell the bees.
[00:32:37] James: And you did that?
[00:32:38] Nicola: And I did that, yeah.
[00:32:39] James: And no one got stung? And no one got stung. So it was a good idea. And
[00:32:42] Nicola: it was a bumpy year, we got lots of honey
[00:32:45] James: this year. Yes, everyone was happy, that's lovely. So, There's a lot here in terms of business. I'm interested in, you know, you've now got a business that's growing in sales and he's got several products and lots of outlets.
What were the [00:33:00] challenges along the, along the way? I mean, you've been going on seven or eight years now. Yes. What, what if, if you were thinking back and what we might advise other people thinking of taking a similar journey, turning a hobby into a business or starting out slightly later in life? What have you learned that maybe was difficult that you sort of somehow solved
[00:33:23] Nicola: Well, I think the spirit business is quite male dominated and uh And I and and whiskey drinkers tend to be male and I think uh, there's a bit of a snob, uh Aspect of putting honey into whiskey and, uh, a lot of, um, of people we approached, uh, didn't want to know and a bit like, um, sparkling wine and champagne.
You know, people used to be so snobby about champagne, but now sparkling wine is, um, really accepted. And I felt that with [00:34:00] Beeble, initially, uh, People, uh, didn't want to know, and there was quite a lot of resistance to trying a new product. And, um, and I remember I went to see Diageo very early on to show them our, uh, new product.
And they said, oh, well, JD Honey do that, Jack Daniels, and there's no place for anyone else. And, and they were, excuse the pun, very dispiriting. And I think, uh, You have to be really resilient as a small startup, probably whatever you're doing. And I, and I think you, you, you have to push on and be resilient and take the adversity and, uh, just move forward.
And Matt, my partner has always been very good at, uh, nevermind tomorrow's a new day. We've been rejected five by five different places today, but [00:35:00] yeah. Tomorrow's a new day
[00:35:02] James: But having a partner is helpful in that respect isn't it because if you I suppose if you were on your own it might be More lonely being rejected five times and picking yourself up again At least someone to share the adversities with but isn't it?
I I thought you told me I might be wrong that most of your customers are actually women now, is that right? So although it was a male dominated space you thought you learned something and did something slightly different
[00:35:25] Nicola: Yeah, I think we have Yeah, our demographic, our main demographic are young women gifting biebel to, uh, men or drinking it themselves.
And women absolutely love biebel. And I think it's because whiskey has got quite a harsh Taste and I think it certainly I've I'm not a great whiskey drinker, but I love what honey how the honey changes that harshness and just makes it more harmonious and [00:36:00] uh, and delicious.
[00:36:03] James: We keep hearing stories about one part of a family tasting your honey and then someone else going along and finishing it off.
So it seems to work for everyone. Um, so in terms of the marketing, What have you done to sort of try and reach more people so more people know about b ball More people will taste it try it because it is a new thing, isn't it?
[00:36:25] Nicola: Yeah, fairs, a lot of, uh, farmers markets and fairs. And, uh, we,
[00:36:32] James: that's of old school.
Get out there, get on the stuff. Yeah.
[00:36:35] Nicola: Very old school. But, um, and we've also really tried to push on trade, which has been a much harder challenge than we initially thought. What's
[00:36:43] James: on trade?
[00:36:44] Nicola: On trade pubs, hotels, restaurants, taking it and encouraging people to use people in their cocktail menus. And, uh, and to put people, uh, you know, place people on the bar.
And that's, that's been [00:37:00] tough. And, uh, and it's a very saturated market and very competitive. But, um, yeah, we've really endeavored to try and, uh, convince people that JD Honey's fine, but we use real honey. And we're a organic, delicious, um, craft, artisanal drink.
[00:37:22] James: So how did you make people aware that you were also selling this online and how have they responded?
[00:37:31] Nicola: They, they respond really well. I think we have some, uh, very attractive gift sets. where we, um, sell our whiskey with a hot toddy glass with an etched B, which I love. And, um, we also sell, um, miniature bottles with, um, uh, with the honey vodka and the rum. And, um, yeah. So gift sets are, they're just great presents.
[00:38:00] And I think people are attracted to that, to order online, to order presents online.
[00:38:05] James: So you put a lot of work into the packaging and presentation as well. Yeah, we put a lot of
[00:38:09] Nicola: work into the packaging
[00:38:10] James: and presentation. That's the product.
[00:38:12] Nicola: Yeah, and we've just been working on it. We've just done a spirit of Christmas fair at Olympia, and we do lots of sort of similar fairs to, um, just get the word out there.
And also tastings. We go do as many tastings as we possibly can. Um, and telling people about the product and, uh, yeah, it's, um, it's hard work, but I really think it works.
[00:38:37] James: So getting out there pressing the flesh as they used to say and meeting people when
[00:38:41] Nicola: someone tastes it. They generally buy it.
[00:38:43] James: Yeah. So a lot of tastings and you also get a lot of I suppose because you're standing there with people you get a lot of customer feedback.
[00:38:51] Nicola: Yes,
[00:38:51] James: which a lot of businesses lack if they're just selling it remotely.
[00:38:55] Nicola: So
[00:38:56] James: you're there talking to the customer. What sort of feedback have [00:39:00] you had?
[00:39:01] Nicola: Americans want it in a, in a 70 CL because you can't sell it in the U S and 50. Um, we haven't ventured into a 70. Yeah, that's for export. Uh, but possibly that's something we I'd like to do in the future.
[00:39:17] James: Sounds like a good idea to me. Yeah. A lot of whiskey drinkers in America.
[00:39:22] Nicola: But generally we have brilliant feedback and, um, You've got
[00:39:28] James: best taste awards as well and
[00:39:30] Nicola: we've had best taste awards on all of our products Yes,
[00:39:33] James: I suppose what i'm driving at here what I want to understand Maybe it's impossible to tell is how important is the quality and the distinctiveness of the product over its presentation packaging and marketing, you know Which which is more important in the end?
[00:39:51] Nicola: I think it has to be the taste the taste. Yeah the product
[00:39:56] James: so if you've got a really good product You will win [00:40:00] eventually, if you, as long as you get out there and do the work.
[00:40:02] Nicola: Exactly. As long as you get out there and do the work. And you've, you've faced the challenges and you persevere. I think perseverance is, is, um, really, uh, the winning quality to making a successful startup.
[00:40:19] James: So as your husband, I've observed your perseverance. I'll probably embarrass you. I mean, you've, you've been exceptional at not giving up with certain retailers and big companies, you know, so now you can buy people, give me a list of some of the places where you can buy me. Where they originally said, no, thank you very much.
Nicola. Yeah. So where are you now?
[00:40:40] Nicola: Struggles. Uh, we're in, uh, Dales for John Lewis. Um, we're in Harrods, we're, uh, in the Jolly Nice, we're in the Burford Garden Centre, we're in End, Kew Gardens, uh, endless farm shops around the country. Yeah. So, and, and
[00:40:57] James: not any of those were sort of [00:41:00] just one phone call, were they?
[00:41:01] Nicola: No. It's always, uh, sending, a, a tasting, uh, an interview. Yeah. It's never straightforward. It's never, uh, straightforward.
[00:41:13] James: And I suppose I, I might share, you know, when we go anywhere, if we're in anywhere near any of these farm shops, like in Cornwall or somewhere, we have to drop in, don't we? And Nicholas so often greeted like a sort of hero because they love selling your product and the people there enjoy it.
[00:41:26] Nicola: Yeah. But that's been great fun. It
[00:41:27] James: is fun. Yeah. And so everywhere you go, you know, in that. Well, people seem to be getting to know the product. So it's a word of mouth thing in a big way, isn't it?
[00:41:36] Nicola: Yeah. And sharing, uh, we, we ran a project, project at HMP Hindley. Uh, that's a prison. Yeah. There's a woman who was on a graduate scheme called unlocked, who's training to be a prison officer.
And she contacted me, Daisy, and, uh, My whole day lit up when I spoke to Daisy. She was trying to [00:42:00] put two hives into the chaplaincy at HMP Hindley and she wanted help. So my son Harold and I went up to spend the day with her to help her getting her hives up and running. And it was a really exciting day.
There were um, inmates there and they'd all, um, basic beekeeping and they were really involved with, uh, uh, producing the honey and we paid for them to design a label and, um, we paid for jars and we really helped the, uh, process and, um, And it was really exciting. And there was one particular guy who was more interested in all of the others and kept telling me all about bees.
And, um, at the end of the day, uh, Maisie, uh, Maisie told us that he was the, um, most dangerous prisoner [00:43:00] and that the bees had really changed his life. And, uh, and I, I felt that it should be bees in every single prison. Uh, because if you're Rich, poor, in the town or the country, you can keep bees. They're very easy to, to keep.
[00:43:17] James: Why do you think that man connected with them? You know, he's a dangerous person. Did, did you have any sense of what was going on?
[00:43:26] Nicola: Well, I think keeping bees can be like learning a language. You, you, you know, you start with the basics, but then you, you start to understand how the queen works. And it's a whole ecosystem and a whole language to learn.
And, um, I think they really drew him in. Yeah. And he, he just became fascinated by the sort of science of, um, how everything works in a hive.
[00:43:51] James: Yeah, because it's almost, your learning never stops with bees.
[00:43:54] Nicola: Yeah, exactly. And
[00:43:56] James: it's an infinitely wonderful thing. And the, the, the thing [00:44:00] I've observed as well is when people start keeping bees, They don't stop either, you know, people continue to keep bees for the rest of their lives.
So I'm expecting to have bees in my life for some time to come. And you actually
[00:44:12] Nicola: changed your mind too, didn't you?
[00:44:14] James: Yeah, it's time for my confession. So I became a beekeeper, Nicola. You're right. You, you turn the table on me and I have. A beehive outside my office in here in Covent Garden and for the benefit of the listeners.
We have an annual honey taste off London versus Wiltshire my honey versus nicolas
[00:44:33] Nicola: and
[00:44:34] James: I didn't think i'd embarrass you with the results, but You can tell them
[00:44:39] Nicola: I invariably james's honey from uh, his london honey wins And it's really intrigued me. I think Six years running James is honey. This is the
[00:44:52] James: beekeeping course as a honey taste off.
[00:44:54] Nicola: So there's a honey taste It's always very
[00:44:56] James: close
[00:44:56] Nicola: country honey and london honey. We don't tell people which [00:45:00] is which we just asked them To tell us which honey they prefer And they always prefer london honey, and I think to myself is it the diesel fumes or what? What is it?
[00:45:10] James: No, it's the way you look after them.
[00:45:11] Nicola: But actually I think the london honey is more complex Complex Because the bees are foraging on so many different things that there's a complexity to London honey, which is There is, it has
[00:45:24] James: a sort of apricot y taste usually, and I think it's to do with partly that and partly the plane trees maybe, but it has, it does taste delicious, but the country honey tastes delicious too, I don't want to give the impression it doesn't, and it's always very, it's always, all honey tastes delicious, it's always very close, but it is interesting how honey batches are very different, you know, even if you take them out at different times of the year, in the summer, early, early honey tastes different to late summer honey
[00:45:49] Nicola: Yeah, and that reflects on Beeble too.
I sometimes think that, uh, one batch can taste slightly different to the next. And I like that. It gives it, um, an extra quality that no [00:46:00] two bottles of Beeble are quite the same.
[00:46:03] James: So, where, where next for Beeble? What would you like to do next?
[00:46:06] Nicola: Well, I just want to keep growing and, uh, I have this amazing guy, Pete Brundle, who's, um, helps us with our hives and we have hives between Malmsbury and Marlborough and, uh, we've got, I think a hundred.
Say that
[00:46:21] James: again, that's a tongue twister.
[00:46:22] Nicola: Between Malmsbury and Marlborough. That's in Wiltshire. In Wiltshire. And, uh, and Pete is a real bee whisperer and he, uh, He produces so much honey from all of the hives, but he looks after the bees so well too. And I'd like to, you know, keep growing and he, he's keen to do that.
And so, um, and we, we're thinking of possibly bringing out a non alcoholic spirit drink, which, you know, might be another skew, but otherwise, I think just, you know, just [00:47:00] organically growing.
[00:47:02] James: So Nicola, you, you, you've stressed the importance of the product and the quality of the product above all else, really above the finances, above the branding.
But beekeeping isn't, you know, it's not predictable, is it? Sometimes the summer starts late, sometimes the honey harvest is poor. What happens if you? Don't have enough honey to meet your demand. How are you gonna ensure, you know, do you have to make compromises? What do you do to make sure that your people product still true to its its essence?
[00:47:34] Nicola: well, we never compromise in that we we we have a few Cotswold beekeepers who Will supply us with honey if we we need to find more but I We'd never buy honey Honey off the shelves. So we always go to and see the bee farmers and Investigate their apiary and really make sure [00:48:00] That um, it's the real thing and that's very important for us at people
[00:48:03] James: because a lot of honey the shops Is
[00:48:06] Nicola: yeah, there was an article in the paper yesterday saying six out of seven Uh have been contaminated or have got something else in them.
So Our rb is pure gold Pure gold. Oh, honey, it's pure gold, actually.
[00:48:25] James: Okay, now I'm going to ask you two questions. Yeah. That I ask everybody. So, what gets you up on a Monday morning, Nicola?
[00:48:33] Nicola: Well, I won't say a glass of Beeble, because I don't think that would be good. Uh, but walking my dogs. I, uh, like my conscience, so I get up and take them for a good walk every morning, not only Monday morning.
[00:48:48] James: Very good. And what about the future? This is another question from my interview book. Um, why you, it's a commonly asked interview question, which is where do you see yourself in five years time? [00:49:00]
[00:49:00] Nicola: Some might really hot Will I be there
[00:49:04] James: Yeah,
[00:49:05] Nicola: I
[00:49:06] James: See myself in the same place, but
[00:49:11] Nicola: I just I hope by then people will be like Marmite or Well
[00:49:19] James: household name a
[00:49:20] Nicola: household name.
Yeah, and every house will have a bottle of people somewhere in their cupboards
[00:49:27] James: Very good I wish you every success with that. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you to Nicola for joining me on All About Business. If you'd like to find out more about Beeble or Nicola, visit beeble. buzz. I'm your host, James Reid, Chairman and CEO of Reid, a family run recruitment and philanthropy company. If you'd like to find out more about Reid's commitment to environmental causes, please visit reid.
com. All links are in the show notes. See you [00:50:00] next time.
All About Business is brought to you by Reed Global. Learn more at: www.reed.com
This podcast was co-produced by Reed Global and Flamingo Media. If you’d like to create a chart-topping podcast to elevate your brand, visit Flamingo-media.co.uk