Queen Hawaiian Co Inc

What Queen Hawaiian Co Inc does

Hawaiian Queen Co., Inc. is a second-generation, family-owned queen bee breeding operation headquartered in Captain Cook, on the Big Island of Hawaii. Founded in 1996 and approaching its 30th anniversary in 2026, the company specializes in breeding and supplying Italian and Carniolan queen bees to commercial beekeeping operations across the United States and Canada. Hawaii's year-round mild climate and consistent rainfall allow the company to produce queens continuously and deliver as early as January, a structural advantage over mainland breeders constrained by seasonal brood cycles.

The core of the operation is an Instrumental Insemination Program directed by Dr. Joe Latshaw of Latshaw Apiaries, in which Italian and Carniolan breeder queens are inseminated on-site to maintain precise genetic control. Products are packaged with USDA Health Certificates and specialized containers (California mini-cages, 3-hole cages, battery boxes, and heating pads) and shipped via UPS 2-Day Air or FedEx Express, with freight-forwarding available for live cargo.

The business operates a direct-to-consumer, first-come, first-served sales model conducted over the phone and email. Pricing is volume-tiered and seasonal, ranging from $27 to $38 per queen, with cumulative annual rebates kicking in once a customer reaches 1,000 queens in a calendar year. Orders of 250 or more queens from April through December require a 50% non-refundable deposit. The primary customer segment is commercial beekeeping enterprises engaged in honey production and crop pollination services. Distribution and customer support include bilingual capabilities, with sales contact and shipping handled from a single Hawaii-based office.

Name

Queen Hawaiian Co Inc

Legal name

Hawaiian Queen Co., Inc.

Website

https://hawaiianqueen.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hawaiian Queen Co., Inc. is a second-generation, family-owned Hawaiian farm that breeds Italian and Carniolan queen bees for commercial beekeeping operations across the U.S. and Canada, leveraging Dr. Joe Latshaw's genetics and Hawaii's year-round climate.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Queen Bee Breeding

NAICS

Apiculture (112910), Apiculture (11291)

SIC

Agricultural Prod-Livestock & Animal Specialties (200)

akta.pro primary industry

Bee Breeding & Genetics (Trait Selection, Stock Improvement) (AFAEAHAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Queen Rearing & Nucleus Colony (Nuc) Production (AFAEAHAE)

Keywords

• Queen bee breeding
• Italian honey bees
• Carniolan honey bees
• Apiculture livestock
• Commercial beekeeping

Headquarters

HQ city

Captain Cook

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Queen Bee Sales: Primary revenue from selling premium Italian and Carniolan queen bees at volume-based tiered pricing. Orders ship Monday or Tuesday via UPS 2-Day Air or FedEx Express. Payment required in advance; large orders require deposit.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Hawaiian Queen Co., Inc. breeds and sells Italian and Carniolan queen bees using on-site instrumental insemination with Latshaw Apiaries genetics. The company leverages Hawaii's mild climate to deliver queens year-round across the United States and Canada, including early-January shipments unavailable from mainland breeders. Each order ships with a USDA Health Certificate and a live delivery guarantee.

Product overview

Hawaiian Queen Co., Inc. is a second-generation family-owned queen bee breeding farm that offers two core product lines: Italian and Carniolan queen bees bred from Latshaw Apiaries genetics. The company operates from Hawaii's ideal climate for year-round breeding and ships queens across the U.S. and Canada. Shipping services with live delivery guarantee, USDA health certificates, and specialized packaging (mini-cages, 3-hole cages, battery boxes) are bundled add-on services to the core queen bee products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Italian Queen Bees Latshaw Italian queen bees, golden in color, bred for honey production in regions with extended honey flows. Large colony populations enable efficient collection and processing of large nectar volumes. Sold to commercial and hobbyist beekeepers in the U.S. and Canada.
• Carniolan Queen Bees Latshaw Carniolan queen bees, darker than the Italian line, bred for honey production in areas with quick, early honey flows. Colony population is regulated by pollen and nectar availability, making them well-suited to harsh environments. Sold to commercial and hobbyist beekeepers in the U.S. and Canada.
• Queen Bee Shipping with Live Delivery Guarantee Shipping service via UPS 2-Day Air and FedEx Express with a live delivery guarantee. Each shipment includes a USDA Health Certificate and packaging scaled to order size: California mini-cages, 3-hole cages, battery boxes, and heating pads for cold conditions. Available to U.S. and Canadian customers.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Latshaw ApiariescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHawaiian Queen's breeding program is directed by Dr. Joe Latshaw at Latshaw Apiaries. The partnership provides access to elite Italian and Carniolan breeder queens through instrumental insemination conducted on-site. Latshaw genetics are specifically selected for honey production and pollination capabilities, forming the foundation of Hawaiian Queen's value proposition.
• Sioux Honey AssociationminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHawaiian Queen Co., Inc. is a member of the Sioux Honey Association, a commercial beekeeping cooperative. This membership provides industry credibility, network access, and potential distribution benefits within the commercial beekeeping sector.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Wildflower Meadows: California-based breeder specializing in VSH (Varroa-sensitive hygiene) Italian queens via instrumental insemination. Direct peer in the premium, genetically-controlled queen market.
• Koehnen & Sons: California-based queen breeder supplying package bees and queens nationally. Direct competitor in the same queen bee product category serving commercial U.S. and Canadian beekeeping operations.
• Olympic Wilderness Apiary: Washington state breeder of Carniolan and Italian queens. Comparable direct competitor in the premium queen market serving West Coast and broader U.S. commercial beekeepers.
• Hill Country Honey Bees: Texas-based queen breeder focused on Italian genetics for commercial beekeepers. Direct competitor in the queen bee product category.
• BeeWeaver Apiaries: Texas-based breeder of Italian and Carniolan queens with selection focused on mite resistance. Direct competitor in commercial queen breeding targeting similar beekeeper segments.
• Olivarez Honey Bees: One of the largest commercial Italian queen breeders in the U.S., based in California with operations in Hawaii — a direct competitor in the same Italian queen category serving commercial beekeepers across North America.
• Latshaw Apiaries: Ohio-based queen breeder and the explicit genetics partner of Hawaiian Queen, supplying Italian and Carniolan breeder queens used in Hawaiian Queen's instrumental insemination program. Directly comparable on product (queen bees), target market (commercial beekeepers), and breeding approach (instrumental insemination).
• Hardy Honey Bee: Commercial queen breeder focused on Italian and Carniolan genetics with instrumental insemination capability. Direct competitor targeting commercial beekeepers with similar premium queen offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Mann Lake: Largest U.S. beekeeping supply company; sells queens alongside a broad portfolio of equipment, medications, and hive products. Comparable as a queen supplier to commercial beekeepers, but operates across the full beekeeping value chain rather than specializing in queen breeding.
• Dadant & Sons: Long-established U.S. beekeeping supplier (founded 1863) selling queens, equipment, and supplies to commercial and hobbyist beekeepers. Overlaps with Hawaiian Queen on queen sales but is fundamentally a broad-line beekeeping equipment distributor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hawaiian-queen-co

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Queen Hawaiian Co Inc