Gold Star Honeybees

What Gold Star Honeybees does

Gold Star Honeybees is a privately held, founder-operated direct-to-consumer beekeeping brand headquartered in Maine that exclusively specializes in top bar hive systems. Its flagship product is the Gold Star Top Bar Hive — a horizontal hive made from sustainably harvested cypress with proprietary design features including a bevel-point top bar comb guide that prevents cross-combing, a side-center entrance configuration suited to cold-weather hiving, a screened bottom board for varroa IPM, and a 4″ × 36″ observation window. The business sells hardware (Deluxe assembled hive $795; DIY kits $95 and $425; construction plans $25; replacement top bars, spacers, legs, hinge kit, feeders, harvest kit, Queen Jail $49), live bees shipped by USPS Priority Mail (3-pound treatment-free packages at $215 for 2024 and $235 for 2025, sourced from partner apiaries in MD/VA/NC/GA/TN), and educational content including two published books, live Weekend Intensive classes ($125 individual / $225 pair), Patreon livestreams, and webinars. Customer base is the backyard and hobbyist beekeeper segment seeking chemical-free, natural-comb management, alongside aspiring beekeepers and educational institutions hosting workshops. Revenue is generated entirely through the company's own e-commerce storefront, USPS shipping, book retail channels, and Patreon subscriptions, with all sales driven by founder Christy Hemenway's personal brand, the proprietary hive designs, and a sponsored community of 50+ state and 9+ international Facebook groups.

Name

Gold Star Honeybees

Legal name

Gold Star Honeybees

Website

https://goldstarhoneybees.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Gold Star Honeybees is a privately held Maine-based e-commerce brand that sells top bar beehives, treatment-free package bees, and natural-beekeeping education exclusively to backyard and hobbyist beekeepers across the United States and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Beekeeping Equipment

NAICS

Apiculture (112910)

akta.pro primary industry

Beekeeping Equipment Manufacturing & Supply (Hives, Frames, Tools, PPE) (AFAEAHAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Package Bees & Colony Sales (AFAEAHAF), Beeswax Production & Processing (AFAEAHAB)

Keywords

• Top bar hives
• Beekeeping equipment
• Natural beekeeping
• Package bees
• Beekeeping classes

Headquarters

HQ city

Waterville

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Top Bar Hive Products: Sale of complete hive kits (Deluxe, DIY#1, DIY#2), individual components (top bars, spacers, legs, follower boards), and accessories (hinge kits). One-time product sales with varying assembly requirements.
2. Package Bees: Sale of 3-pound packages of live honey bees shipped via USPS Priority Mail. Includes approximately 10,000 bees with a queen in a separate cage. Treatment-free bees raised in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and northern Georgia.
3. Educational Books: Sale of 'The Thinking Beekeeper' ($12.50 retail) and 'Advanced Top Bar Beekeeping' books. Also offers 'How & Why To Keep Bees in Top Bar Hives' presentation as free downloadable PDF.
4. Classes and Training: Revenue from Weekend Intensive in-person classes ($125 per student, $225 per pair), Patreon subscription for online classes and exclusive content, and 2-hour How & Why workshops.
5. Tools and Accessories: Sale of specialized tools including hive tools, syrup feeders, fondant feeders, queen jails, honey harvest kits, strainers, and spare parts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Gold Star Honeybees designs, manufactures, and sells top bar beehives (Deluxe assembled hives, DIY kits, and downloadable construction plans), sells live 3-pound package bees shipped via USPS Priority Mail, and publishes educational books and online/in-person classes on natural, chemical-free top bar beekeeping. The product line emphasizes clean natural beeswax produced without foundation sheets and treatment-free honey bee genetics sourced from a multi-state apiary network.

Product overview

Gold Star Honeybees offers a unified product ecosystem centered on natural top bar beekeeping, emphasizing clean beeswax production and chemical-free colony management. The core offering is the Gold Star Top Bar Hive (Deluxe), available as a fully assembled kit ($795), DIY construction kit with hardware ($95-$425), or construction plans ($25). Supporting products include 3# package bees ($215-$235) with treatment-free genetics, beeswax products, and specialized tools (Queen Jail, hive tool, feeders). Educational offerings comprise two books ('The Thinking Beekeeper' and 'Advanced Top Bar Beekeeping') and online classes via Patreon. The company advocates for natural beeswax comb production, positioning clean wax as the central benefit of top bar hive beekeeping.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gold Star Top Bar Hive (Deluxe) Fully assembled flagship top bar hive made from sustainably harvested cypress, featuring a light-weight gabled roof, sturdy removable legs, 30 top bars, 2 follower boards, 20 spacers, 4" x 36" glass observation window, screened bottom, and adjustable/removable bottom board. Designed with three one-inch side center entrances for easy cold-weather hiving. Priced at $795.00 with free shipping.
• DIY #1 Top Bar Hive Kit Construction kit for serious do-it-yourself woodworkers containing all hardware (bolts, washers, T-nuts, wing nuts, thumb knobs, offset clips, screws, corks, pushpins, 48" hardware cloth) plus construction plans. Builder must supply wood, glass, caulk, paint, and woodworking tools. Priced at $95.00.
• Gold Star Top Bar Hive Construction Plans Downloadable PDF construction plans to build the Gold Star Deluxe top bar hive from scratch, including US and metric dimensions, materials list, cutting layout diagram, detailed assembly instructions, and a bonus sketch for building the syrup feeder. Priced at $25.00.
• 3# Package Bees Live honey bee packages weighing approximately 3 pounds (10,000-12,000 bees) with naturally mated, unmarked queen in a separate cage with attendant bees. Raised treatment-free in Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. Shipped via USPS Priority Mail 'Hold for pickup'. 2024 season priced at $215.00; 2025 pre-order at $235.00.
• Queen Jail Three-piece queen caging system (small box, large box, top bar) that enables beekeepers to capture and cage the queen for 14 days to create a broodless hive for effective oxalic acid varroa mite treatment achieving over 90% efficacy. Priced at $49.00.
• Gold Star Honey Harvest Kit (Crush and Strain Extractor) Gravity-powered crush and strain honey extraction kit including two 5-gallon food grade buckets with lids, two nylon strainers, long-handled comb masher, and honey valve for easy bottling. Priced at $150.00.
• Top Bar Hive Tool Long, straight, sharp tool designed specifically for top bar hive inspections. Used for separating top bars, applying the windshield wiper technique for detaching comb, and general hive management tasks.
• Top Bar Hive Syrup Feeder Internal syrup feeder accessed through the drive-through window follower board. Designed for spring feeding (1:1 ratio) and fall feeding (2:1 ratio) to support bees during establishment. Priced at $35.00.
• Fondant Feeder Frames (Set of 2) Winter feeding system that acts like a fake honeycomb, making fondant (hard sugar candy) accessible to bees when they cannot break cluster in cold weather. Sold as a set of 2 for $47.00.
• Gold Star Top Bar Hive Hinge Kit Optional hinge kit for attaching the lid to Gold Star top bar hives. Designed for beekeepers who prefer not to completely remove the lid during inspections. Priced at $60.00.
• Top Bar Hive Nuc Box (8 Interchangeable Top Bars) Compact nuc box with 8 Gold Star top bars for making nucs, trapping swarms, or storing drawn natural comb. Top bars interchangeable with Gold Star hives, Bee Thinking, and Backyard Hive Golden Mean hives. Priced at $165.00.
• Gold Star Top Bar Beeswax (1 oz Ingot) Clean natural beeswax rendered from combs taken from untreated top bar hives. Free of lipophilic chemical contamination. Sold as a 1 oz ingot for $13.00 with free shipping.
• The Thinking Beekeeper: A Guide to Natural Beekeeping in Top Bar Hives Foundational book on natural beekeeping in top bar hives covering simplicity, sustainability, ergonomics, and chemical-free colonies. Includes photos, diagrams, and hive management guidance. ISBN 9780865717206. Retail $12.50; $9.50 from Gold Star Honeybees.
• Advanced Top Bar Beekeeping: Next Steps for the Thinking Beekeeper Sequel book covering Year 2 and beyond including splits, swarm prevention, moving hives, winter management, and advanced techniques. ISBN 9780865718098.
• Weekend Intensive Top Bar Beekeeping Class Two full days of hands-on top bar beekeeping instruction (9am-4pm) using Gold Star equipment. Priced at $125 per student or $225 per pair. Also available online via Patreon.
• Thinking Beekeeper Patreon Subscription Online educational content via Patreon including LiveStream Top Bar Beekeeping Classes, sneak previews of in-process books, in-depth beekeeping discussions, and the Weekend Intensive Top Bar Beekeeping Class. Tiered monthly subscription.

Quantifiable outcome

• USPS averages 95% success rate shipping live bees
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and minor.

• PatreoncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPatreon hosts Gold Star Honeybees' online education platform. Christy Hemenway offers live-streamed classes, sneak previews of in-process books ('Tips & Tricks of Building Top Bar Hives'), and exclusive content through tiered subscription.
• GoToWebinarsupportingTechnology or IntegrationWebinar platform used for hosting past educational webinars on topics including swarming, troubleshooting, pest & disease, and honey harvesting.
• USPScoreOthersExclusive shipping partner for live bee packages. Bees shipped Priority Mail (ground only - USPS prohibits air transport). Packages insured. 95%+ success rate. 'Hold for pickup' service with post office notification.
• New Society PublisherscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublisher of 'The Thinking Beekeeper - A Guide to Natural Beekeeping in Top Bar Hives' (2011) and 'Advanced Top Bar Beekeeping - Next Steps for the Thinking Beekeeper' (2016) by Christy Hemenway.
• QuadPaysupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerInstallment payment provider enabling 'Buzz now, Pay later' option for bee purchases. 4 equal payments, zero interest.
• AmazonsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRetail channel for selling 'The Thinking Beekeeper' and 'Advanced Top Bar Beekeeping' books alongside Barnes & Noble and independent bookstores.
• Allan BrownminorOthersAssisted with hive assembly video demonstration filmed in Denver, CO. Filmed by Phil Chandler of biobees.com.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Kelley Beekeeping: Historic U.S. beekeeping supplier (founded 1924) selling equipment, package bees, and supplies. Comparable as a competing supplier for hobbyist beekeepers purchasing hives and starter bee packages.
• GloryBee: U.S. honey and beekeeping product company selling bees, equipment, and beeswax products at retail and wholesale scale. Overlaps with Gold Star's beeswax product line and supplies the broader beekeeping hobbyist market.
• Brushy Mountain Bee Farm: Long-established beekeeping equipment supplier serving hobbyist and commercial beekeepers. Sells hive kits, tools, and supplies with broader product lines than Gold Star, including top bar hive offerings among many other categories.
• Betterbee: Established Northeast U.S. beekeeping supply company offering a broad catalog including some top bar hive options alongside mainstream Langstroth equipment. Comparable as a competing supplier to backyard/hobbyist beekeepers, but with significantly broader product range.
• Dadant and Sons: One of the oldest and largest U.S. beekeeping supply companies. Provides a full range of beekeeping equipment, bees, and supplies to hobbyist and commercial markets, dwarfing Gold Star's scale and product breadth.
• Mann Lake: One of the largest U.S. beekeeping equipment and supply companies. Sells across the full beekeeping spectrum including packages of bees and equipment, with the scale and catalog breadth that a niche specialist like Gold Star cannot match.

Direct peers

• Bee Thinking: Former direct competitor in the top bar hive niche. Bee Thinking's hives were compatible with Gold Star's interchangeable top bars, making them a closely comparable specialty supplier serving the same natural beekeeping customer segment.
• Olivarez Honey Bees: Large-scale package bee and queen bee supplier serving U.S. hobbyist and commercial beekeepers. Comparable as a competing source of live honey bee packages, though focused on Italian/Carniolan genetics rather than Gold Star's treatment-free niche.
• Backyard Hive: Specialty top bar hive maker whose Golden Mean hive uses interchangeable top bars with Gold Star's system. Direct niche competitor serving hobbyist natural beekeepers with a similar product philosophy.

Emerging players

• Phil Chandler / biobees.com: UK-based natural/top bar beekeeping advocate and content creator who collaborated with Gold Star on hive assembly video content. Comparable as a content-and-community-driven natural beekeeping voice serving the same niche customer philosophy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/topbarbeehives

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 Gold Star Honeybees