What Hukins Hops does

Hukins Hops is a fifth-generation family hop farm operating a 300-acre estate at Haffenden Farm in Tenterden, within the Weald of Kent (UK). The business cultivates approximately 320,000 hop plants and processes them in a modern facility capable of completing harvest within a 30-day window. Its core product portfolio spans two pillars: brewing inputs (wet hops and dried aroma hop varieties such as Ernest, Bullion, Fuggle, Goldings, and Challenger sold to commercial breweries and home brewers) and decorative hop garlands (fresh, dried, and prepared) sold to the wedding, interior design, and hospitality markets. Underpinning operations are sustainable practices including rainwater-fed irrigation, on-farm electricity generation, and participation in the Natural England Higher Level Stewardship scheme, supporting a carbon-negative status.

Revenue is generated across five streams: hop product sales (B2B and DTC), decorative garland sales, paid farm tours and tasting experiences (public at £25 per adult in September; private year-round for groups of 10+), bespoke brew day courses, and venue hire for weddings and corporate events, supplemented by branded merchandise. Distribution combines an e-commerce storefront, in-person farm sales during tours and events, telephone ordering, and direct B2B sales to commercial brewers during the mid-August to mid-September harvest window. Marketing relies on the company website, Instagram, an email newsletter, blog content, and earned media coverage including a feature by The Times.

Leadership rests with Ross Hukins as Managing Partner (5th generation), supported by a small core team covering farm management, sales (Glenn), events (Dom), and decoration (Louisa). Ross also serves as a director of the British Hop Association, director of Wye Hops Ltd, and Chairman of Wealden Hops, embedding the business in the UK hop industry's trade infrastructure. Recent strategic moves include the 2026 opening of the Hop House Taproom in partnership with McCanns Brewery and the build-out of venue hire on the estate, signalling continued diversification into hospitality and agritourism.

Name

Hukins Hops

Legal name

Hukins Hops

Website

https://hukins-hops.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1906

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hukins Hops is a fifth-generation family hop farm in Kent, UK, cultivating 320,000 hop plants on a 300-acre estate and selling brewing hops, decorative garlands, farm tours, and venue hire to brewers, home brewers, wedding venues, and tourism customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hop Cultivation & Brewing Supplies

akta.pro primary industry

Hop Farming (AFAGAGAB)

Keywords

• Hop cultivation
• Brewery hop supply
• Hop garland decor
• Farm tour experiences
• Craft brewing hops

Headquarters

HQ city

Tenterden

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hop Products (Brewing): Sale of wet hops and dried hops for brewing purposes to commercial brewers and home brewers. Fresh hops available mid-August to mid-September; dried hops available mid-August to Christmas while stocks last.
2. Hop Garlands (Decorative): Sale of decorative hop garlands for weddings, interiors, and hospitality venues. Products include mini fresh hop vines, prepared fresh hop garlands, mini dried hop vines, dried hop garlands, prepared dried hop garlands, and autumnal head of hops.
3. Tours and Experiences: Guided hop farm tours, beer tastings, brew day experiences, and bespoke tours and tastings. Public tours in September at £25 per adult; private group tours available year-round for groups of 10 or more.
4. Venue Hire: Corporate experience, hop tours with lunch, and event venue hire on the 300-acre estate with contemporary event space, lawns, and hop gardens.
5. Merchandise: Branded merchandise including T-shirts and snapback caps sold online and at farm events. Snapback caps priced at £22.80 including P&P.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hukins Hops is a fifth-generation family hop farm in Kent that cultivates, picks, and processes hops on a 300-acre estate producing approximately 320,000 hop plants per harvest. It sells wet and dried hops (Ernest, Bullion, Fuggle, Goldings, Challenger) to commercial and home brewers, decorative hop garlands for weddings and interiors, branded merchandise, and runs hop farm tours, tasting experiences, brew day courses, and venue hire.

Product overview

Hukins Hops is a fifth-generation family hop farm offering a portfolio of products centered on premium British hops and hop-related experiences. The core product lines include decorative hop garlands (fresh, dried, and prepared varieties) for weddings and interiors, and brewing hops (wet and dried) for commercial and home brewers. These are complemented by experiential offerings including guided hop farm tours, bespoke tasting experiences, brew day courses, and venue hire for events. Branded merchandise (apparel and accessories) rounds out the portfolio. The farm processes approximately 320,000 hop plants during a 30-day harvest season and operates from a 300-acre estate in Kent.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hop Garlands Hand-selected decorative hop garlands sold to weddings, interior designers, pubs, bars, hotels, and restaurants for traditional British hop decorations.
• Wet Hops Freshly harvested green hop cones sold during the mid-August to mid-September harvest window for use by brewers and homebrewers making wet-hopped beers.
• Brew Hops (Dried Hops) Dried aroma hop varieties sold to commercial and craft brewers for producing distinguished English hop flavour profiles.
• Home Brew Hops Award-winning hops sold directly to individual home brewing enthusiasts for personal beer-making projects.
• Hop Farm Tour Guided group tours of a working hop farm with craft beer tasting, sold to individuals and groups; public tours run in September and private tours year-round.
• Bespoke Tours & Tastings Custom private tour and tasting packages combining a meet-the-grower session, beer tasting, and optional lunch for groups of up to 15.
• Brew Day Experience Hands-on brewing instruction experience run with a former head brewer, including 1:1 brewing guidance, hop farm tour, and craft beer tasting.
• Venue Hire Event venue rental at the farm estate, with custom packages for weddings, corporate events, parties, and meetings.
• Hukins Hops Merchandise Branded apparel and accessories (T-shirts, snapback caps) sold online and in person at farm tours and tastings.

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Kent Wildlife TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental partnership focused on sustainability projects including wetlands creation on unused scrub areas of the farm. Also collaborate with Tenterden Wildlife and local community groups.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Brook House Hops: UK hop farm based in Herefordshire producing British aroma hops for craft brewers, with farm tours and on-site experiences. Directly comparable on crop, customer base, and experience-led DTC model; similar scale and premium-British positioning to Hukins.
• Simply Hops: UK-based hop supplier offering both home-brew and commercial brewing hops online, including British varieties. Direct competitor on the home-brew and craft brewery supply side with overlapping hop variety range.
• Lupulin Exchange: B2B online marketplace connecting hop growers with brewers, particularly in the US craft segment. Comparable as an alternative route-to-market for hop sales to commercial brewers, with overlapping customer base and business model on the hop trading side.
• Charles Faram & Co: Long-established UK hop merchant supplying British and international hop varieties to commercial and craft brewers. Comparable on the B2B hop supply side to commercial brewers, though Faram is a merchant/distributor rather than a grower.
• Wye Hops Ltd: UK hop grower cooperative in the Herefordshire/Wye Valley region producing British aroma hops for commercial brewing. Ross Hukins of Hukins Hops is a director, but commercially it is a peer grower cooperative with overlapping crop, varieties, and customer base.

Broad incumbents

• BarthHaas: Global hop specialist offering hop products, flavour solutions, and breeding programmes to brewing customers worldwide. A broad incumbent that competes for craft brewer accounts and sets baseline pricing/availability for aroma hops globally.
• HOPSTEINER: International hop breeder and supplier providing aroma hop varieties and hop products to commercial brewers globally. A broad incumbent with overlapping customer base (commercial brewers) and aroma hop product overlap, operating at substantially larger scale than Hukins.
• Yakima Chief Hops: Global hop grower-owned supplier supplying aroma and bittering hop varieties to brewers worldwide, including the UK. A broad incumbent with overlapping customer base (commercial brewers) and product overlap (hop varieties), but at significantly larger scale and broader geographic footprint than Hukins.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/hukins_hops
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hukins-hops

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

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 Hukins Hops