Bee Free Honee

Last updated
Bee Free Honee
InventorKatie Sanchez
Inception2012 [1]
Website beefreehonee.com [ dead link ]

Bee Free Honee was an apple-based vegan alternative to honey that achieved recognition and funding from Shark Tank . [2] Produced from apples, lemon juice, and cane sugar, it could be used as a replacement for honey in recipes. [3] The product could be consumed by young children [4] and by people with an allergy to honey. [5] In 2019, the company went out of business. [6]

Contents

History

The product was accidentally developed in 1999 by Katie Sanchez while she was making apple jelly. [7] The company was established in 2012, [1] with a production facility in River Falls, Wisconsin. [8] After being featured on Shark Tank in February 2016, [2] sales quadrupled and the company moved production from Wisconsin to Texas. [1]

Company co-owner Melissa Elms claimed that by not using bees for production, the product was beneficial to honeybee populations, which she said were often exposed to unsuitable environments in commercial production. [9]

Products

The main ingredients in Bee Free Honee were apple juice, cane sugar, and lemon juice. [4] Flavored variations included ancho chile, mint, and slippery elm. [4] The products were most often sold in stores that specialize in organic/natural foods, including H-E-B, Sprouts Farmers Market, Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers, Wegmans, and Whole Foods Market. [1] [9]

Bee Free Honee was featured at the Specialty Food Association's Summer Fancy Food Show in 2016 [10] and Winter Fancy Food Show in January 2017. [11]

Related Research Articles

Dessert Course that concludes a meal, usually sweet

Dessert is a course that concludes a meal. The course consists of sweet foods, such as confections, and possibly a beverage such as dessert wine and liqueur. In some parts of the world, such as much of Central Africa and West Africa, and most parts of China, there is no tradition of a dessert course to conclude a meal.

Honey Sweet food made by bees mostly using nectar from flowers

Honey is a sweet, viscous food substance made by honey bees and some other bees. Bees produce honey from the sugary secretions of plants or from secretions of other insects, by regurgitation, enzymatic activity, and water evaporation. Honey bees store honey in wax structures called honeycombs, whereas stingless bees store honey in pots made of wax and resin. The variety of honey produced by honey bees is the best-known, due to its worldwide commercial production and human consumption. Honey is collected from wild bee colonies, or from hives of domesticated bees, a practice known as beekeeping or apiculture.

Sugar Sweet-tasting, water soluble carbohydrates

Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double sugars, are molecules made of two bonded monosaccharides; common examples are sucrose, lactose, and maltose. White sugar is a refined form of sucrose. In the body, compound sugars are hydrolysed into simple sugars.

Veganism Practice of abstaining from the use of animal products

Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products, particularly in diet, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Distinctions may be made between several categories of veganism. Dietary vegans, also known as "strict vegetarians", refrain from consuming meat, eggs, dairy products, and any other animal-derived substances. An ethical vegan is someone who not only follows a plant-based diet but extends the philosophy into other areas of their lives, opposes the use of animals for any purpose, and tries to avoid any cruelty and exploitation of all animals including humans. Another term is "environmental veganism", which refers to the avoidance of animal products on the premise that the industrial farming of animals is environmentally damaging and unsustainable.

Vinegar Liquid consisting mainly of acetic acid and water

Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to ethanol using yeast, and ethanol to acetic acid by acetic acid bacteria. Many types of vinegar are available, depending on source materials. It is now mainly used in the culinary arts as a flavorful, acidic cooking ingredient, or in pickling. Various types of vinegar are also used as condiments or garnishes, including balsamic vinegar and malt vinegar.

Sucrose Disaccharide made of glucose and fructose

Sucrose, a disaccharide, is a sugar composed of glucose and fructose subunits. It is produced naturally in plants and is the main constituent of white sugar. It has the molecular formula C
12
H
22
O
11
.

Molasses Viscous by-product of the refining of sugarcane, grapes, or sugar beets into sugar

Molasses is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods. Molasses is a major constituent of fine commercial brown sugar. It is also one of the primary ingredients used to distill rum.

Smirnoff Vodka brand founded in Russia

Smirnoff is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898). It is distributed in 130 countries. Smirnoff products include vodka, flavoured vodka, and malt beverages. In 2014, Smirnoff was the best selling vodka around the world.

Muesli Breakfast dish based on raw rolled oats and other ingredients

Muesli is a cold oatmeal dish based on rolled oats and ingredients such as grains, nuts, seeds and fresh or dried fruits. Muesli was traditionally prepared with milk or cream, a squeeze of citrus juice, often with a sweetener such as honey, and soaked overnight. Yoghurt or other mammal or plant milk products are now commonly added to packaged and homemade muesli recipes.

Lemonade Lemon-flavoured drink

Lemonade is a sweetened lemon-flavored beverage.

Minute Maid American beverage company

Minute Maid is a product line of beverages, usually associated with lemonade or orange juice, but which now extends to soft drinks of different kinds, including Hi-C. Minute Maid is sold under the Cappy brand in Central Europe and under the brand "Моя Семья" in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Minute Maid was the first company to market frozen orange juice concentrate, allowing it to be distributed throughout the United States and served year-round. The Minute Maid Company is owned by The Coca-Cola Company, the world's largest marketer of fruit juices and drinks. The firm opened its headquarters in Sugar Land Town Square in Sugar Land, Texas, United States, on February 16, 2009; previously it was headquartered in the 2000 St. James Place building in Houston.

Golden syrup Thick amber-colored form of inverted sugar syrup

Golden syrup or light treacle is a thick, amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup made by the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid. It is used in a variety of baking recipes and desserts. It has an appearance and consistency similar to honey, and is often used as a substitute where honey is unavailable or prohibitively expensive.

Apple butter Concentrated form of apple sauce

Apple butter is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by long, slow cooking of apples with cider or water to a point where the sugar in the apples caramelizes, turning the apple butter a deep brown. The concentration of sugar gives apple butter a much longer shelf life as a preserve than apple sauce.

High-fructose corn syrup Processed corn syrup

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzymes. To make HFCS, the corn syrup is further processed by D-xylose isomerase to convert some of its glucose into fructose. HFCS was first marketed in the early 1970s by the Clinton Corn Processing Company, together with the Japanese Agency of Industrial Science and Technology, where the enzyme was discovered in 1965.

Hwachae

Hwachae is a general term for traditional Korean punches, made with various fruits or edible flower petals. The fruits and flowers are soaked in honeyed water or honeyed magnolia berry juice. In modern South Korea, carbonated drinks and/or fruit juices are also commonly added to hwachae. Hwachae is often garnished with pine nuts before it is served.

Ginger tea Tea beverage made from ginger root

Ginger tea is a herbal beverage that is made from ginger root. It has a long history as a traditional herbal medicine in East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and West Asia.

Sharbat Sweet drink

Sharbat is an Iranian drink also popular in Turkey, South Asia, Caucasus and the Balkans. It is prepared from fruits or flower petals. It is a sweet cordial, and usually served chilled. It can be served in concentrated form and eaten with a spoon or diluted with water to create the drink.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Jacqueline Dowland (September 28, 2016). "Local entrepreneur showcasing her product, Bee Free Honee, on CNBC's 'Shark Tank tonight". Killeen Daily Herald. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Shark Tank: Episode 17 – Watch Season 7 Episode 17". ABC. February 12, 2016. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2017. An entrepreneur from Philadelphia hopes the Sharks don't take a bite out of him while pitching a smart plate containing food-recognition technology that could solve all your dieting problems; two energetic women from Minneapolis, MN and Waco, TX have created a sweetener that tastes just like honey, but not made by bees.
  3. Katie Lally (September 18, 2016). "Bee Free Honee Update- What Happened After Shark Tank". Gazette Review. Archived from the original on March 20, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 Jessica Gay (May 4, 2016). "Interview: Bee Free Honee's environmentally friendly 'honey'". foodbev.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  5. Mallory Carra (February 12, 2016). "Where To Get Bee Free Honee, The 'Shark Tank' Treat With No Sting". Bustle. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  6. Emily (2019-09-25). "A Leader in Calling for Pollinator Rights | Bee Free Honee". exploreveg.org. Archived from the original on 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
  7. "About us – Bee Free Honee". beefreehonee.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-15. Retrieved March 19, 2017.
  8. Beth Dooley (October 13, 2016). "Plymouth woman enjoys sweet success with faux honey after 'Shark Tank'". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  9. 1 2 Hannah Sentenac (February 8, 2017). "Honey Isn't Vegan, but These Alternatives Are Better for Bees". Paste. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  10. Monica Watrous (July 5, 2016). "Honey heats up at Summer Fancy Food". Food Business News. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  11. "Spicy, Sweet, Creamy, Crispy All in One: Taste Innovations at Specialty Food Association's 2017 Winter Fancy Food Show". PR Newswire. January 24, 2017. Archived from the original on March 23, 2017. Retrieved March 22, 2017.