Buckley's Bees

What Buckley's Bees does

Buckley's Bees is a family-run UK environmental services business based in Crewe, Cheshire, founded in 2018 (Companies House number 11452973) and operated as Buckleys Bees Ltd. The company is dedicated to conserving the native British honeybee (Apis mellifera mellifera) through a strict zero-import breeding policy that maintains lineage from long-standing British lines, with selection criteria emphasizing calm temperament, hygienic behaviour, Varroa resistance, and UK overwintering resilience. Its commercial offering spans four streams: corporate beehive hosting and sponsorship services (B2B), direct-to-consumer e-commerce sales of honey, beeswax candles, and adopt-a-queen packages (B2C), sale of British-bred nucleus colonies and queens to domestic beekeepers (the Buy British Bees platform launched June 2026), and seasonal beekeeping experience days plus a tiered course curriculum (Beginner, Intermediate launching 2026, Advanced launching 2027, Honey Extraction) delivered at its Training and Exhibition Centre in Cheshire.

The business serves three distinct customer segments: corporate buyers seeking CSR, sustainability, biodiversity, and employee engagement outcomes (logo clients include Bentley Motors, Yeo Valley Organic, Arla, Aldi, MMD, Instem, and others); individual consumers purchasing honey, candles, gift adoptions, and experience days; and hobbyist or professional beekeepers sourcing quality-assured British breeding stock. Distribution is primarily direct: a self-serve WordPress-based online store for consumer purchases, bespoke enterprise sales via contact form and account management for corporate clients, in-person training at the Cheshire apiary for courses and experiences, and click-and-collect within a 100-mile radius for NUCs. NUCs are priced at £350/unit, honey at £7.97 per 340g jar, candles between £5.50 and £13.80, and adopt-a-queen packages at £70; corporate beehive package pricing is quote-based and undisclosed. Founders David Buckley (50+ years breeding experience, trained under Beowulf Cooper) and Emma Buckley (BIBBA trustee) lead a small (1-10 employee) operation with no external funding, no public listing, and no disclosed M&A activity. The firm holds BBKA and BIBBA memberships and supports national pollinator conservation initiatives including the Exmoor 'Sowing the Seeds' wildflower restoration partnership announced in April 2026.

Name

Buckley's Bees

Legal name

Buckleys Bees Ltd

Website

https://buckleysbees.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Buckley's Bees is a UK family-run beekeeping business in Cheshire that breeds native British honeybees and sells nucleus colonies, queens, honey, and beeswax candles, while offering corporate beehive hosting and beekeeping courses for individuals and hobbyists.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Apiculture Services

NAICS

Apiculture (112910), Apiculture (11291)

akta.pro primary industry

Honey Production & Extraction (AFAEAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Queen Rearing & Nucleus Colony (Nuc) Production (AFAEAHAE), Value-Added Bee Products Manufacturing (Candles, Cosmetics, Supplements, Mead Ingredients) (AFAEAHAM)

Keywords

• Nucleus colonies
• Queen bee breeding
• Corporate beekeeping
• Beekeeping training
• British honey

Headquarters

HQ city

Crewe

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Product Sales: Online store selling honey (340g jars at £7.97, Neighbour Network Honey at £7.00), beeswax candles (£5.50-£13.80), adopt-a-queen packages (£70), and British-bred nucleus colonies (£350). One-time purchases with optional repeat purchases.
2. Corporate Bee Packages: Businesses can host their own fully-managed honeybee colonies on premises or sponsor hives at Buckley’s Bees apiary. Includes dedicated professional beekeeper, hive updates, corporate honey crop, CSR/PR opportunities, and employee engagement. Pricing not publicly disclosed.
3. Experience Days and Courses: Inside the Hive Experience Days (3-hour hands-on sessions) and Beekeeping for Beginners courses with online modules plus practical day. Seasonal availability (May-July). Gift vouchers available.
4. British-Bred Queen and NUC Sales: Sale of quality-assured British-bred queen bees and nucleus colonies. Queens are open-mated, marked with international colour codes, sent in breathable introduction cages. NUCs include 5-6 frames with mated laying queen. £350 per nuc with £50 deposit. Limited seasonal availability.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Buckley's Bees is a family-run British beekeeping business that breeds and sells nucleus colonies (NUCs) and queen bees, hosts and manages corporate beehives on business premises, and runs hands-on beekeeping experience days and training courses for hobbyists and beginners. It also produces and sells British honey and beeswax products such as candles.

Product overview

Buckley’s Bees is a family-run business offering a portfolio of beekeeping products and services centred on protecting the native British honeybee (Apis mellifera mellifera). The core offering includes British-bred nucleus colonies (NUCs) and queen honey bees sold via the main site and the dedicated Buy British Bees platform launched in June 2026. For individuals, the company provides experience days, beekeeping courses (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced), and honey/candle products. For businesses, services include hosting or sponsoring beehives on corporate premises. All bees are bred in Britain with zero imports, and the company holds membership with BBKA and BIBBA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Buy British Bees: A dedicated shop wing of Buckley's Bees for domestic beekeepers to buy British-bred queens and nucleus colonies. Launched June 2026 as a soft launch.

Products and services

• British Nucleus Colonies (NUCs) British-bred nucleus colonies (starter bee colonies) sold to hobbyist and small-scale beekeepers in the UK for establishing new hives.
• British Queen Bees British-bred queen bees sold to beekeepers for hive headship replacement and colony regeneration.
• Corporate Hive Hosting / Sponsorship End-to-end beehive hosting and management service for businesses that want to sponsor or host hives on their premises, typically for CSR, sustainability, and employee engagement purposes.
• Beekeeping Experience Days Hands-on, on-site beekeeping experience days delivered at the Buckley's Bees apiary in Crewe, aimed at members of the public who want a practical introduction to keeping bees.
• Beekeeping Training Courses Structured beekeeping courses for beginners and improvers, teaching hive management, bee handling, and basic husbandry.
• British Honey Locally produced British honey harvested from Buckley's Bees' own apiaries, sold direct to consumers.
• Beeswax Candles and Beeswax Products Handmade beeswax candles and related beeswax products produced from the company's own hives and sold direct to consumers.
• Queen Bee Adoption Programme Consumer-facing scheme allowing individuals to adopt a named queen bee from the Buckley's Bees breeding programme, typically as a gift or conservation support product.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced bee population decline through native British bee breeding and distribution
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Exmoor National Park AuthorityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026Buckley’s Bees sponsoring the ‘Sowing the Seeds’ project through the CareMoor for Exmoor scheme. Project focuses on restoring wildflower meadow habitats across Exmoor to support pollinators and wider biodiversity. Includes harvesting wildflower seed, providing training, and practical habitat restoration.
• British Beekeepers Association (BBKA)coreOthersBuckley’s Bees and its beekeepers are registered BBKA members. Company supports BBKA’s work to protect the native British honeybee population.
• Bee Improvement and Bee Breeders Association (BIBBA)coreOthersEmma Buckley is a trustee of BIBBA. Company supports BIBBA’s mission to improve and protect honeybee populations across the UK through responsible breeding and resistance to importing non-native bees.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Healey's Cornish Honey: Cornish honey producer and beekeeping experience provider selling honey, candles, and training through farm-based offerings. Comparable on the consumer product and education side, though with a more regional, single-site focus.
• Plan Bee: UK-based corporate beekeeping service offering managed hive hosting, sponsorship, and CSR packages to businesses. Direct comparable to Buckley's Bees' 'Host Your Own Beehives' and 'Sponsor a Beehive' offerings, serving overlapping B2B sustainability/wellbeing buyers.
• Paynes Bee Farm: Long-established UK bee supply business selling nucleus colonies, queens, and beekeeping equipment to hobbyist beekeepers. Directly comparable to Buckley's 'Buy British Bees' platform and queen/NUC product line.
• Bee in the City: Manchester-based urban/corporate beekeeping social enterprise offering hive hosting, training, and educational experiences to North-West businesses. Comparable customer segments, geography, and service mix to Buckley's Bees.

Emerging players

• Black Mountain Honey: Welsh premium honey brand and beekeeping supplier offering raw British honey and educational content. Overlaps with Buckley's consumer honey range and brand-led storytelling approach, at smaller scale.

Regional players

• Yorkshire Honey Company: UK regional honey brand and beekeeping supplier selling honey, candles, and beekeeping starter kits direct-to-consumer. Overlaps with Buckley's consumer product range but without the corporate hive hosting or breeding-stock proposition.

Others

• Bee Improvement and Bee Breeders' Association (BIBBA): UK organisation promoting native honeybee breeding and conservation, of which Emma Buckley is a trustee. Ecosystem/standards body for the British-bred bee market in which Buckley's Bees competes; influences buyer expectations and competitor behaviour.
• British Beekeepers Association (BBKA): UK industry association for beekeepers. Buckley's Bees is a registered BBKA member; BBKA is an ecosystem partner rather than a competitor — providing accreditation, training pathways, and policy advocacy relevant to Buckley's customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Hilltop Honey: Fast-growing UK premium honey brand sold through major retailers and online. A much larger, retail-distributed incumbent competing for the same British/quality-honey consumer pocket but without the breeding, education, or B2B services.
• Rowse Honey: UK's largest honey brand, sourcing and packing both UK and imported honey at scale across retail. A broad incumbent in the honey category — adjacent to Buckley's honey jar business but with fundamentally different sourcing, scale, and distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/buckleysbees
• Facebookfacebook.com/Buckleysbees
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/buckley-s-bees
• Instagraminstagram.com/buckleysbees

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 Buckley's Bees