While working as nurses at Hahnemann Hospital in
Philadelphia, mother and daughter Karen Zebrowski and Nikki Zebrowski-Beck
began a sweet side business making and selling honey to their health care
co-workers and at local events.
For a year and a half, the mother-daughter duo continued
nursing and running Jamison-based Backyard Buzz
part-time.
“She couldn’t keep up with the demand,” Zebrowski said of
her daughter, a beekeeper of nine years, who has since become a Cornell
Certified Beekeeper and Certified Pollinator Steward.
By 2021, the entrepreneurs had left their health care
roles behind to primarily focus on their honey-making business.
Recognizing the need to produce more honey and expand
online sales, the business owners began collaborating with SCORE Bucks County
mentor Kathleen Donohue in 2021.
“Kathleen is amazing,” Zebrowski said. “She helped us
figure out the value and worth of our products.”
Their mentor guided the entrepreneurs in realizing that
their honey is an “indulgence” and a “luxury product” and assisted them in
pricing their items accordingly, Zebrowski said.
Donohue is also helping Backyard Buzz boost its online
sales.
“They’ve also been building their online business and
using their personal retail ventures to increase their email lists,” she said.
“Today their products are in demand by some local restaurants who feature their
products on their menus as well as offer them for sale.”
In addition to selling online and at Warrington Farmers
Market, Backyard Buzz items are available at Meadowlark Bakery & Café in
Warminster, JustFood in Buckingham, The Craft Hive Honey House in Pipersville and
at Unriven in Sellersville.
Part of their business expansion is moving beyond the
honeycomb to continue creating other products from beeswax and honey, including
beeswax luminaries, various bath and beauty products and their top-selling
honey lollipops, honey cotton candy and chocolate-covered creamed honey
confections.
“There are other honey companies and we like to
differentiate our business in the industry by offering unique products,”
Zebrowski said.
Another way the company stands out is its certification
as a PA Preferred business. Honey extracting is undertaken in a kitchen
certified by the Department of Agriculture.
The pair’s passion for pollinators is evident in the
company’s unique pollinator-inspired art, as well as pollinator boxes for
backyards. Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, Beck would like to focus more on
education and pollination services.
“Not many people know about our important native
pollinators, so we offer education and native bee box pollination services,”
Zebrowski-Beck said. “You don’t have to worry about a beehive that has to be
managed. The little pollinator box is little maintenance, which we do anyway.”
Zebrowski-Beck manages 15 beehives throughout Bucks County
but hopes to set up hives in more area backyards to grow their honey
production.
“I operate the beehives a little bit differently than the
way traditional honey companies do,” Zebrowski-Beck said of her smaller
beehives, which help with pests and diseases overwhelming the beehive.
On average, a beehive produces 30 to 50 pounds of honey
during spring and summer months, she said, noting that their growth plan hinges
on adding more beehives.
“We’re always looking for homeowners interested in having
honeybees on their property,” Zebrowski said. “Nikki gets everybody involved.
She sends them photos and tells them what’s going on. It’s really fun when
there’s a family and the kids are really interested.”
About SCORE
Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 11 million aspiring entrepreneurs. Each
year, SCORE provides small business mentoring and workshops to more
than 375,000 new and growing small businesses.?With more than 70 members
across Bucks and Eastern Montgomery counties, SCORE Bucks?County?provides
over 4,300 free mentoring services annually to local small business owners
through one-on-one counseling and small business seminars. To stay up to
date on news and happenings, join SCORE Bucks County’s email list. Text
SCOREBUCKS to 22828.
