Abeja Reyna preserves bees and takes care of people through honey-based consumer products

In recent years, many Mexican beekeepers have abandoned their profession. Although bees are the number 1 pollinator in the world and key to the food security of people everywhere, there is little innovation in the honey production and beekeeping sector in their country. Gaining a decent income from bees is hard.

Abeja Reyna (“Queen Bee”) has set out to reverse this trend by producing personal care and foods based on organic honey. By satisfying the growing consumer demand for natural ingredients, this social enterprise helps to preserve bees while creating new opportunities for beekeepers. Working in southern Mexico and the Bajio region, their team is mainly made up of women, from the founder Hilda and her daughters to the small-scale beekeepers who produce their organic honey. While proudly promoting the use of local Mexican products, the company wants to be a reference point for sustainable innovation.

Abeja Reyna has developed a wide variety of quality honey-based products. These include a beauty and personal care line with shampoos, bath sets and cosmetics kits, as well as foods, including selected organic honey jars, gourmet marmalades and mineral-rich dehydrated bee honey powder.

The honey is made with respect for nature and insects, supporting good beekeeping practices to preserve and revive the honey-producing sector. Abeja Reyna also works to extend the life cycle and reduce the environmental impact of their products, with a refill system, recycling of containers and other initiatives.

Programme support:

To date, Abeja Reyna has supported twenty local communities, benefiting 220 people and creating eighty jobs. With their participation in the accelerator, the management team wants to increase their social impact. They will work on strengthening their commercial strategy and scaling their portfolio of organic honey-based products to reach more clients and provide market access to more beekeepers.

With support from New Ventures and IKEA co-worker coaches, Abeja Reyna will also improve its skills for monitoring and reporting about their positive impact.