Thanksgiving is upon us and I am so very greatful for the Journey Forever Bee is on! We have been through a lot this past year and we have so much to be thankful for. The new relationships we have made, the community that has connected and uplifted us and so much more.

A part of our journey in continuing business this year did involve a price change. Most businesses do evaulate these things yearly or at least on some set schedule. Some of you may know our story and some may not. I highly encourage checking out our About Us Section and The Latest Buzz Section of our website. We update these sections as often as we can with the latest information about our business and products.

I am looking forward to the year when the world has shifted, resources are accessible and affordable, we have nature friendly options available and everything is budget consious. I assume in the time it takes for this to occur, I will have also learned new ways to budget and use our funds, more efficient ways to operate our business, larger volumes creating better margins, and likely the coolest collection of photos from the makers who use our ingredients. I'm excited for this to come about, hopefully in the not too distant future.

Until then, we are here in the fall of 2022, our world is still affected by the events in 2020. Forever Bee, like many businesses was impacted by the changes brought on by Covid-19. By May 2022 we were already struggling to carry on, when we had discovered all of our bees had died through the winter. At this point we would not be able to carry on with business the way it was. Our Founders, Annanie and Matt, had decided to close the business, buy a boat and set sail. Our Manager of 5 years, Kira, helped to wrap up the business.

We closed down our Lethbridge office, sold some of our unused supplies, laid off our staff, began to remove features and settings from our online store. We announced our closure to our customers and encouraged people to stock up. We did not want anyone to be without quality honey, beeswax, body butter, soap or any other products. We were suprised and grateful to know that some customers were able to fill their pantries with a few months or even a couple of years worth of honey, pollen, candles and more. The beauty of natural products that do not expire.

Kira really didn't want to give up on Forever Bee, and she really didn't want to do the job shopping process. So she got to work finding a way to keep Forever Bee open. We had already reduced our operating expenses a lot through the closing process, that really helped. We partenered up with private farms that needed help distributing honey this year. We are continuing to operate without the help of a large team. Our product lineup has been reduced a bit, with the discontinuation of our Flavoured Honeys.

Raw Honey Price Change

All of our bees died in the winter of 2021/2022. This year we have had to start fresh with new relationships, new hives, new queens. Every beekeeper in Alberta, and all across the world is working hard on recovering from the hardships of the past few years. It used to be common to see a 5% increase in the cost of produing honey year to year, this year we have seen a 30% increase. You will likely see the cost of honey go up from every beekeeper this year, and there will be a decrease in the availability of honey. With the reduction of bees and limited access to new bees, there is simply less honey available.

This year we were doing a full evaluation, so we took a look at our product costs, our delivery costs, rewards programs, sales channels, retail outlets and heres how it worked out.

• Retail Price of 1kg of honey went from $22 to $30 per jar this year.
• Bulk Cases are available, you will save around 15% for bulk purchases. Honey Money rewards CAN be used towards bulk items.
• Individual 3kg and 7kg pails are considered bulk and have reduced pricing on them included, further discounts are available when purchased in case quantities.
• Delivery is FREE on orders over $50, Shipments are $20 on orders up to $150 or $30 for up to $250. Our cost of shipping and delivery has increased again this year, but we will keep our prices the same. Exact rate shipping is also available at the checkout, you will always know what we actually pay to ship your order. We see patterns of ordering where we have 20-40 orders per delivery route, then other periods where we have less than 10 orders, having consistant shoppers really helps keep our costs low.

Effective November 1, 2022 our Honey Vinegars will be chaning in price, and will be available in new sizes!! We can't wait for the gift giving to begin!! Honey Vinegar will keep its freshness and flavours for a couple of years. Having a few extra on hand, or stocking up before the holidays is a great idea.

Honey Vinegars will be available in 250ml and 550ml Bottles
Natural Honey Vinegar
250ml - $14 & 550ml - $20

Flavour Infused Honey Vinegar
250ml - $16 & 550ml - $22

Gift sets and bulk cases will be available, stay tuned for those updates!

Effective November 1, 2022 our Soap & Bath Products will be chaning in price, and will be available in new beeswax wraps!!  

Beeswax & Hoey Soaps:
Soap Only $10
Soap with 6.5" Reusable Wrap $15
Soap 3 pack with 9.5" Reusable Wrap $35

Bubble Truffle 3 Packs:
Available in Plastic Box or Beeswax Gift Wraps
Pack of 3 Truffles for $35.

Beeswax wraps are a fantastic re-useable resource, they make for beautiful gift wraps, and have purpose in the home later.

We come right to your door in a lot of Alberta cities. If it's too far to drive, we can always ship it to you!