You’ve seen the iconic packaging. Bee Maid Honey is a staple on store shelves nationally and internationally. What you may not know is the unique makeup of the company and how it’s far more than a brand – it's a movement in support of beekeepers in the prairie provinces, including Alberta and a successful effort to preserve one of humankinds most enduring agricultural pursuits. Bee Maid Honey truly sits at the sweet spot of business, agriculture, national identity and sustainability.

Guy Chartier, CEO of Bee Maid Honey Limited, is happy to explain.

“Both founded in the 1930s, Alberta Honey Producers Co-Operative and the Manitoba Cooperative  Honey Producers co-own Bee Maid Honey, which was incorporated in 1954. Although we just surpassed 70 years as Bee Maid Honey Limited, the roots go back nearly a century. It’s quite a legacy!”

It is a legacy that has never strayed far from the hive. The producer-owned model continued through the incorporation and remains in place today. 

“Basically, we are owned by the honey producers,” says Chartier. “There are about 300 Canadian beekeepers in the co-op. There is a real sense of pride of ownership that resonates from the producers who are Canadians supporting Canadian families. With the talks of tariffs in place, that national pride is even more apparent.”

It’s a Canadian company with an international reach. From three locations (Spruce Grove, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg) Bee Maid provides services and wares for their beekeepers and producers, direct sales to consumers and warehousing and logistics for big box retail. Bee Maid also packs and labels proprietary brands for grocery stores, provides food service for restaurants and provides honey as an ingredient for a selection of food producers.”

“We are, obviously, very well known in Canada,” smiles Chartier, “however we ship a lot of honey to Japan and South Korea, among other global markets. Canadian honey has an outstanding reputation in markets like Japan where the lighter coloured honey, which has a more delicate flavour, is popular in their recipes.”

At present, about 30 per cent of the honey produced in Canada flows through Bee Maid.

“And we just keep growing! We keep growing our customer base and our producers. We did a major expansion of our Spruce Grove operations last year and built a new facility in Winnipeg at the same time.”

Bee Maid’s CEO and leadership team directly supports the producers in the co-op, travelling to each facility, meeting with beekeepers and shopkeepers, discussing transparently with them ongoing Bee Maid projects and listening to the concerns and needs of the market.

Chartier says, “We are unique in the way we operate as a co-op and are led by our producers. It feels very special for us as the leadership team to know we are supporting producers who are feeding their families.”

Beyond supporting producers and providing an international stage for their honey, Bee Maid is focused heavily on sustainability. All the plastic bottles are manufactured in house, including the iconic honey bear. This ensures high quality standards and recycling of plastics, without the added carbon footprint of trucking in bottles from outside locations or employing workers outside of Alberta to produce these and other wares.

Chartier adds, “Beyond that, honey has a halo effect. It’s a natural product. It’s a natural sweetener. There are no additives – we warm it, clean it and bottle it. That’s it! That resonates highly with our consumers. People are actively seeking natural products like this right now, and that helps to grow our businesses organically as well.”

Being on the frontlines of the industry, Bee Maid is very aware of a pressing issue that has affected beekeepers for several years – the plight of the bees.

Chartier says, “Bees are not native to Canada; it is a challenge to keep them alive during the winter. It is the role of the beekeeper to see to the health of the hive – without beekeepers, bees would not exist in Alberta. The issue is the number of bees dying over the last couple of decades. That number has been rising. We need more research to understand why and how we can do a better job of keeping the bees alive, because the current rate of loss means the industry may not be sustainable in the long term.”

At present it is known that mites can weaken a colony to the point where the hive does not successfully overwinter. Additionally, climate change, which is seeing a warm/cold flux over months that were traditionally and predictably cold, has made it hard for bees to regulate their cycle. Compounding all this are the increasing prevalence and size of forest fires where the flames destroy habitat and hives that survive are often damaged by smoke. These, and other pressing concerns, face Alberta producers and Bee Maid is a strong advocate for research and assistance from grassroots to government levels.

While Alberta is known for energy and oil, Chartier knows that honey is also a big part of our economy. Many simply don’t realize how big – yet. 

He laughs, “People talk about Alberta canola. They don’t remember that canola requires pollination, which requires bees! Honey is indeed a large part of our province’s agriculture.” 

A partner that has been a longstanding part of Bee Maid’s journey, and that has had a vested interest in Alberta’s producers from its inception, is ATB.

“They have really taken the time to understand our business,” Chartier affirms. “We are very unique in our model and our divisions ( bee supplies and honey). ATB has a great understanding of the partnerships in the co-op, our challenges, our successes and our needs. They have supported our expansions and helped us finance some of the equipment over the years to upgrade our plants and to become more efficient and sustainable.”

He continues, “ATB is local like us and that connectivity really helps to build mutual trust. We are both here for the same reasons. We support producers and want to see the province grow and thrive.”

Bee Maid is buzzing with excitement over the future.

“People are eating more and more honey, which means our customers want our product. As our consumer base grows, we will grow with them. We service many of the major grocery retailers in Canada and we will continue to grow our footprint, ensuring they don’t need to go elsewhere for honey. We also look forward to bringing more producers into the co-op.”

Chartier concludes, “Everyone should feel good about buying Bee Maid honey. It’s beneficial to the consumer as a natural product and we are proudly Canadian. Buying Bee Maid honey has a far-reaching, impact.”

Learn more online at beemaid.com.

From the May 2025 edition of Business in Calgary, and Business in Edmonton. Shared with permission