Connecting the dots
in the honey industry.

What we do

Hive Consulting is a boutique consultancy allowing government authorities, business owners, investors and NGOs access to quality expertise to enable challenging and exciting new projects in the honey, beekeeping and bee products industry.

We aim to provide impactful and tailor-made solutions to our global partners, whether they require support building their new venture, creating a new exclusive range of products, identifying and accessing opportunity markets or delivering on broader industry goals via regulatory, training or development initiatives.

Strategically based in the UAE, a major global logistics hub, we are ideally positioned to support and manage projects in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, either remotely or in person.

Our core areas of expertise are:

  1. Product and Business Development.
  2. Beekeeping and Honey Processing.
  3. Research, Regulatory and Policy Development.

 

Product & Business Development

The variety of landscapes, botanical sources, heritage and regulatory framework of countries around the world demand very different approaches and strategies to the world of beekeeping and honey production.

These differences offer unique opportunities for creating products with radically unique compositions and qualities. We are here to help our clients navigate the wonders and risks of this sector so deeply rooted in natural regional diversity in these key areas:

  1. Bulk or speciality honey buying, sourcing and procurement of consumables, traceability, assessing honey quality and laboratory testing support.
  2. Beekeeping and sensory analysis training & value adding activities, judging panels and international competitions.
  3. New product and brand development, commercial strategy for your exclusive honey collections.

 

Bees &
Honey Processing

Supporting industry players with the initial set-up, restructuring or scaling of existing operations, building manufacturing and production infrastructure. We work with market leaders and innovators to find ad-hoc solutions while following well-established industry best practices.

Tailored advice and management solutions for corporate and private customers wishing to build their very own project by focusing on these key areas:

  1. Commercial and urban beekeeping.
  2. Honey processing and packing, factory operations and software. All the way from flow design to equipment installation.
  3. Bee friendly corporate social responsibility initiatives from branded beehives to biodiversity oases using local flora.

Research, Regulatory &
Policy Development

We are here to support central and local government authorities as well as local beekeeping associations; we offer tailored advice aimed at creating well-structured policy frameworks and beekeeping regulatory environment to promote premium honey production as well as safe beekeeping activities for the public, the producers, the bees and the planet.

We have experience supporting authorities  with the following initiatives:

  1. Developing national beekeeping regulations, policy writing & monitoring structures.
  2. Building regulatory frameworks to access a variety of markets, including the UK and the EU Residue Monitoring Plan.
  3. Create policy frameworks to strengthen geographical indication, add value to speciality products and safeguard local producers.

About

Nicholas Bishop (BA, MA) leads Hive Consulting’s special projects in various markets, in close partnership with a global network of trusted experts in the industry.

Over the years Nicholas has been directly involved in building and managing premium honey companies, designing and building processing & packaging lines, commercial and urban beekeeping projects. While employed by the London Honey Company he had the opportunity to create global honey collections with VIP clients such as Harrods, Fortnum & Mason, and Selfridges.

Most recently he has been involved in reviewing regulatory frameworks and creating feasibility studies for ambitious private and public projects in the GCC as well as developing internationalisation initiatives and driving access to UK and EU markets for non-EU countries.

In 2019 Nicholas became the first British member of the Italian National Register of Experts in the Sensory Analysis of Honey and has been organising training activities in the UK, Saudi Arabia and the UAE as well as being an active judge for various competitions and awards in the EU, UK and GCC.

His unique experience, global network, expertise and resourcefulness offer clients an unmatched one-stop solution to navigate and bring to life projects in this unique sector.