Despite their growing global footprint, Blue Hills remains deeply connected to its Tasmanian roots. The business’s interpretation centre and shop offer more than just honey in jars. Visitors can experience a virtual reality tour of an apiary site, learn about bee behaviour via an AI kiosk, and see photos and stories that trace the company’s journey from a small family farm to a world-leading brand. That sense of evolution has driven a diversification of the product range, which is often led by customer demand. What started as buckets of honey sold behind the scenes has grown into an impressive
lineup of meads, moisturisers, creamed honeys, flavoured variants, and even the latest addition – preservative-free honey-roasted nuts. “We’ve had a core range of honeys... but then we get some natural crossovers that we didn’t know what do with before, so we actually put them into separate lines, and they go really well. We’ve got a Manuka Leatherwood, we’ve got a Manuka Kunzea, a wilderness range and a wildflower range, all slightly different, but customers have asked, and we’ve actually seen the need there to have other lines. “We’ve gone into creamed products as well. That was a demand from customers... the market went away from that, but now it’s come back with a vengeance. Everything we have in our shop or to sell, has a connection to us.” For all the product innovation and technological upgrades, the essence of beekeeping has remained the same, and so have its challenges. In Tasmania, the honey harvesting season is short and intense, typically running from January to March. Within that window, the prized Leatherwood flow lasts just four to six weeks. It’s also not a job for the faint-hearted.
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Tasmanian Hospitality Review August/September Edition
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