What Akron Honey does

Akron Honey is a privately held, founder-led artisanal honey producer founded in 2014 by Brent Wesley in Akron, Ohio. The company operates two urban apiaries on blighted vacant lots in Akron neighborhoods and harvests raw honey in small batches that are never strained, filtered, or blended across seasons, preserving the distinctive flavor profile of urban foraging. Its core technology is a flavor infusion process in which raw Ohio wildflower honey is infused over several days with ingredients such as Cleveland Whiskey bourbon barrel cubes, habanero peppers, hibiscus flowers, and strawberries, then strained and bottled. The product line spans an 11oz Raw Wildflower Honey, five infused flavors (Bourbon Barrel, Habanero Hot, Hibiscus, Strawberry, Apple Cinnamon), curated gift bundles (Sweet Three variety packs, the six-jar Akron Honey Box), grab-and-go honey sticks, gift cards, and a small branded apparel collection.

The business runs on a hybrid direct-to-consumer and regional wholesale model. Primary revenue comes from Shopify-powered e-commerce with nationwide shipping and free shipping above $50, supplemented by local pickup at the Northside Marketplace location at 21 Furnace Street, Akron. A secondary wholesale stream places product in approximately 90 retail locations across Ohio and New York, spanning named grocery chains (Giant Eagle, Meijer, Fresh Thyme, Mustard Seed, Acme), specialty retailers, and food-service accounts including Phoenix Coffee, Eighty-Three Brewery, and Progressive Field. Pricing is unit-based and ranges from $1 honey sticks to $19.99-$48 gift bundles and $19.99-$49.99 apparel.

The target customer is individual health- and food-conscious consumers seeking distinctive, locally sourced honey for everyday culinary use and gifting. Marketing is concentrated on owned channels: a recipe-driven content blog, Instagram and Facebook (@akronhoney), the "Honeylove" email list, a store-locator tool, and earned media coverage in CNBC, Yelp Blog, Bee Culture, eBay Retail Revival, Cleveland Magazine, and the Akron Beacon Journal. The company maintains a parallel community mission of honeybee education in Akron and Cleveland schools since 2014.

Name

Akron Honey

Legal name

Akron Honey

Website

https://akronhoney.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Akron Honey is a founder-led, Akron-based urban beekeeper producing small-batch raw and infused honeys (Wildflower, Bourbon Barrel, Habanero, Hibiscus, Strawberry) sold DTC via Shopify, at a Northside Marketplace pickup point, and across approximately 90 retail locations in Ohio and New York.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Artisanal Honey

NAICS

Apiculture (112910), Apiculture (11291)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000)

akta.pro primary industry

Honey Production & Extraction (AFAEAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Honey Packaging, Bottling & Private Labeling (AFAEAHAL), Honey & Natural Sweet Spreads Manufacturing (AFAKADAL), Value-Added Bee Products Manufacturing (Candles, Cosmetics, Supplements, Mead Ingredients) (AFAEAHAM)

Keywords

• Raw honey production
• Infused honey products
• Urban beekeeping operations
• Gift box assortments
• Honey retail distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Akron

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. E-commerce Product Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales through the Shopify website, including honey products (various flavors and sizes), gift boxes, and branded merchandise/apparel.
2. Wholesale/Retail Distribution: Products sold through approximately 90 retail locations including grocery stores, specialty food retailers, and restaurants throughout Ohio and New York.
3. Local Pickup: Customers can pick up orders at Northside Marketplace in Akron, Ohio.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Akron Honey is an urban beekeeping company that produces small-batch, raw, unstrained honey in Akron, Ohio. It sells single-flavor 11oz jars, infused varieties (Bourbon Barrel, Habanero Hot, Hibiscus, Strawberry, Apple Cinnamon), curated multi-jar gift boxes, honey sticks, branded apparel, and gift cards through its Shopify website, local pickup, and approximately 90 wholesale retail and food service locations across Ohio and New York.

Product overview

Akron Honey is an urban beekeeping and artisanal honey company based in Akron, Ohio, offering a diverse portfolio of raw and infused honey products. The core product line centers on honey varieties including Raw Wildflower Honey and five infused flavors: Bourbon Barrel (with Cleveland Whiskey bourbon barrel infusion), Habanero Hot Honey, Hibiscus, Strawberry, and Apple Cinnamon (seasonal). These are sold as individual 11oz jars, in curated bundles (Sweet Three: three 3oz jars of mixed flavors, and the comprehensive Akron Honey Box featuring six honey varieties plus sticks and a dipper), and as grab-and-go honey sticks. The company also sells branded apparel including sweatshirts, hoodies, crew neck and V-neck t-shirts, and trucker caps. All products are harvested locally in Ohio, with urban honey sourced from beehives in Akron neighborhoods, and feature distinctive flavors from diverse urban food sources for the bees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Raw Wildflower Honey 11oz Classic raw Ohio wildflower honey in an 11oz jar for honey lovers who appreciate simple, unstrained, unfiltered flavor; suitable for coffee, tea, toast, smoothies, sauces, and mixed drinks.
• Bourbon Barrel Honey 11oz Raw wildflower honey infused with bourbon barrel cubes from Cleveland Whiskey, packaged in an 11oz jar; versatile for Greek yogurt, mixed drinks, teas, glazed salmon, biscuits, and toast.
• Habanero Hot Honey 11oz Raw wildflower honey infused with habanero chili peppers for a sweet-and-heat combination marketed as a 'slow burn'; sold in an 11oz jar for wings, pizza, glazed veggies, waffles, pancakes, and cheese boards.
• Hibiscus Honey 11oz

Quantifiable outcome

• Honey never goes bad - infinite shelf life
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Cleveland WhiskeycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCleveland Whiskey supplies bourbon barrel cubes used in the production of Akron Honey's Bourbon Barrel Honey flavor. The barrels are sourced from Cleveland Whiskey and used to infuse the raw wildflower honey with bourbon flavor over several days of infusion.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Really Raw Honey: Specialty brand selling unfiltered, unstirred, raw honey directly to consumers. Directly comparable to Akron Honey's 'hive-to-jar' positioning with no straining or filtering.
• Crockett Honey: Family-run honey producer selling raw, unfiltered honey and honey products through DTC and retail. Comparable small-batch artisanal honey producer with similar product positioning.
• Bee Local: Single-origin, small-batch raw honey brand sourcing from Pacific Northwest apiaries. Comparable as a regional, terroir-driven raw honey brand with similar DTC-plus-retail go-to-market.
• Mike's Hot Honey: Founded in Brooklyn, Mike's Hot Honey pioneered the chili-infused honey category with broad retail and foodservice distribution. Akron Honey's Habanero Hot Honey is a direct comparable in the infused/hot-honey subsegment.
• Wedderspoon: Premium raw Manuka and specialty honey brand with broad DTC and retail presence. Comparable as a premium-priced raw honey brand positioned on authenticity and unique provenance.
• Local Hive: Regional raw, unfiltered honey brand packaged in distinctive jars and sold through U.S. grocery chains. Closely comparable as a raw, single-region honey brand scaling through mainstream retail distribution.

Broad incumbents

• GloryBee: Honey manufacturer and beekeeping supply company offering retail and bulk honey products. Comparable as a vertically integrated honey producer with branded retail SKUs.
• Madhava Natural Sweeteners: Natural sweetener brand with a portfolio that includes raw and flavored honeys. Comparable as an established natural-foods honey brand with broader retail penetration.
• Nature Nate's Honey: One of the largest U.S. raw and unfiltered honey brands with nationwide grocery distribution. Comparable as a raw honey brand at far greater scale, representing the larger incumbent Akron Honey could grow into.

Emerging players

• Firebee Hot Honey: Emerging infused-honey brand with chili-forward SKUs targeting foodservice and retail. Comparable emerging player in the flavored/infused honey subsegment that overlaps with Akron Honey's Habanero Hot Honey.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Akronhoney
• Instagraminstagram.com/akronhoney
• Xx.com/akronhoney
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/akron-honey-company-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Akron Honey