nir-vana innovation network

The Italian beekeeper, whose company was established in 2016, specializes in the production of honey, other hive products and honey based products - in the Molise region - in areas of high environmental integrity, far from sources of pollution, characterized by spontaneous blooms and cultivated blooms without the use of agrochemicals. The company benefits from the in-depth knowledge and experience of the owner who is a nomadic beekeeper, moving beehives and bee colonies from one location to another based on seasons or the availability of flowers and resources for bee nutrition. The distinguishig feature of the company is the special attention it pays to: • the selection of the best areas for beehives: the owner personally travels with the hives that are loaded onto vehicles, to reach the previously inspected flower-filled fields. He personally places the hives on the flower fields so the bees can begin their work. The honey comes only from families of hives, located in some pristine areas of the high hills of Molise, between 600 and 800 meters above sea level. It is harvested pure and does not undergo any kind of thermal or physical treatment, in order to preserve its quality, freshness and genuineness. The owner is not interested in any organic honey label because his farm has made more challenging choices such as creating a "circular economy" bee farm: a sustainable production process that respects the environment, biodiversity, and bees throughout the beekeeping value chain. • the production process: the owner, after personally inspecting and placing the hives on the fields, when the frames of the honeycombs are full of honey, removes and takes them to the laboratory. Prior to honey extraction and with the help of a refractometer, the moisture content of the honey is measured in order to prevent any honey fermentation problem. Then, the honey extraction stage follows: this involves removing a very thin layer of wax (called “operculum”) that the bees deposit to close each individual honey cell. Once the very thin layer of wax has been removed, each frame is placed in an extractor that, by turning at a certain speed, allows the honey to be forced out of the cells by cold centrifugal force, so that all the characteristics of the honey are maintained, thus preserving its quality, freshness and genuineness. Then, the honey is filtered and left to ripen in special steel food grade containers. Finally, in order to valorize the sustainability of its products and protect them from counterfeiting, the company has recently started to use the blockchain technology applied to the traceability of its honey production. • environmental and ethical issues: The company is an integrated and sustainable enterprise with a craftsmanship organizational dimension and a circular economy approach. The aim of the company is to establish a sustainable and environmentally friendly production process that respects bees throughout the entire apiculture value chain, involving all the economic stakeholders who are in any way connected to the company itself, up to the end consumers. The company offers: • honey (wild cherry, ‘’sulla’’, sunflower, chestnut, coriander, wildflower) - glass jars in various sizes: 400g, 250g, 120g • propolis (tincture) • pollen – 400g glass jars • hazelnut and honey cream – 100g glass jars Products are also available in cardboard gift boxes (4 glass jars x 30g) and transparent gift boxes (4 glass jars x 40g) The company exports account for 20% of the turnover. In particular, it exports to Belgium, Japan. In order to further expand its market abroad, the company is: • seeking distributors who would add the company’s products to their existing portfolio in order to increase their product range and therefore market penetration for a distribution agreement • seeking agents that have existing relationships with an established network of potential customers in the local market, under the framework of a commercial agency agreement