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Company Spotlight: Bokamoso Foods (t/a Bee Loved Honey)

Lynn

"This is not ordinary honey, it's a whole ecosystem."

Beekeeper and two jars of honey on honeycomb background.
Images source: Bokamoso Foods t/a Bee Loved Honey.

Bee Loved Honey offers a luscious, unaltered nectar harvested from the summits of acacia trees and endless expanses of sunflower fields. Bee Loved honey is brimming with its inherent vitamins, antioxidants, enzymes, and minerals, all in their pristine, organic state. It's a collaborative effort, sourced from various beekeepers and underserved small-scale farmers spanning South Africa.


This isn't your run-of-the-mill honey; it carries within it a genuine African narrative of rejuvenation, economic empowerment, and environmental revival. Bee Loved's ambitious initiative aims to craft one million beehives by 2025 and disseminate them across the continent. This endeavor seeks to revive honeybee populations and invigorate local economies.


So, remember, this isn't just a jar of honey; it's an ecosystem.


Q. What is your passion? Tell us about it.

A. Lesego is a driven social entrepreneur involved in numerous initiatives that aim to uplift impoverished communities. She is also the CEO and founder of Bokamoso Impact Investments, a social enterprise dedicated to connecting the poverty-stricken rural communities of South Africa and empowering them by introducing innovative agricultural solutions to eradicating poverty through education and the incubation of local rural entrepreneurs. It also tackles the lack of resources with commercial strategies and natural asset mobilization.


Q. What inspired you to pursue this passion? Tell us the story.

A. Through her experiences as a volunteer teacher at a school in the rural town of Mmabatho, in the Northwest Province of South Africa, Lesego acknowledged that the solution to eradicating poverty lies in access to good education and innovative entrepreneurship. Her heart for sustainable education-based poverty alleviation in rural area pushed her to take the initiative further. Once she recognized the need for income generating activities to revitalize the mindset and economy of the communities from which her orphan scholars hail, she founded Bokamoso Impact investments, a social enterprise solely dedicated to uplifting remote underdeveloped areas of the country through agriculture and entrepreneurship. From BII comes Bee Loved Honey, a niche luxury honey brand that encourages indigenous beekeeping, a commodity important to South Africans that plays a part in saving the honeybee population while promoting education through agriculture and increasing employment possibilities.


Q. What makes your creation unique?

A. At Bee Loved Honey, we produce raw, unadulterated honey which we source from small scale honey farmers in rural areas across the country, who we identify, train, provide infrastructure (beehives & harvesting), and create market access for them by buying back their harvested honey, branding it and selling it in creative ways. Bokamoso’s competitive advantage is its holistic model, which targets the entire honey value chain. From this position, Bokamoso has a view of all critical success factors that determine whether our honey meets market requirements with regard to quality, price, dependability, volume, design, and speed of delivery, thus significantly improving our competitiveness. Besides our systemic advantage, Bokamoso aims to differentiate its products by incorporating storytelling in its branding. We tell the story of where each jar is produced, the social and environmental impact created in rural communities with each purchase. Bee Loved Honey, under the Bokamoso brand, represents a sustainable beekeeping model that aims to empower rural communities, alleviate poverty, and transform the honey industry. By immersing rural communities in the honey production value chain, focusing on economic empowerment, skills development, food security, and environmental impact, Bee Loved Honey addresses critical social, economic, and ecological challenges. Bokamoso's commitment to empowering rural populations, building a premium honey brand, and fostering sustainability contributes to the overall success of the initiative while fostering positive change for generations to come.


Flyer for Bee Loved Honey.
Bokamoso Foods t/a Bee Loved Honey

Q. Tell us about your creative process.

A. Bokamoso's comprehensive understanding of the honey industry's value chain is instrumental in transforming it. The brand empowers and trains bee farmers, honey collectors, and honey processors/bottlers, creating employment opportunities, enhancing skills, and increasing revenues. Moreover, Bee Loved Honey identifies opportunities for value-added products, further improving the economics of each stage in the value chain. By prioritizing farmer traceability and linking each bottle of honey to a rural farmer ("farm to table"), the brand enhances its appeal in the high-end market. Additionally, the sales of wax and propolis contribute to the overall unit economics of the brand. Furthermore, Bee Loved Honey recognizes the critical role bees play in pollination and the growth of natural resources, emphasizing the importance of environmental sustainability.

10. Who is your audience? How do you engage them?: Locally, farmers from impoverished rural communities by implementing beekeeper training programmes in rural communities, General public through retails outlets (Checkers, EGG) Globally, Supermarkets, confectioneries, distributors of organic produce - Attending exhibitions across the globe, via web traffic and social media marketing.


Q. Who is your audience? How do you engage them?

A. Bee Loved Honey is LOCAL, DELICIOUS 'N ORGANIC. Bokamoso’s honey is 100% pure honey . For consumption we BRING THE DELIGHTS AND HEALTH-BENEFITS OF HIGH-QUAL ITY HONEY TO THE WORLD. WE ARE AN ADVOCATE OF CREATIVE CHOICES, HEALTHY LIVING, AND THE POWER OF COMMUNITY. WE INFUSE THESE VALUES IN ALL THAT WE DO.


Q. Where can your creations be found?

A. Retail outlets in South Africa (Checkers, EGG), www.beelovedhoney.africa online shopping.


Q. What is next?

A. • 5000 BLACK COMMERCIAL BEEKEEPERS FROM RURAL AREAS We aim to identify and support 5000 rural farmers into becoming commercial beekeepers


• 100K PER ANNUM IN EARNING POTENTIAL We aim to assist those farmers to each make at least R100k per annum through offtake agreement


• 1 MILLION BEEHIVES With this initiative, we aim to build 1 million beehives


• CREATING INTERNATIONAL MARKET ACCESS We aim to create market access to our farmer network


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