Benicia Honey Co. began with a simple experiment — and a few boxes of bees.

Sean’s dad has been keeping bees for years, traveling each season from Florida to California with his hives to help pollinate the almond orchards. One year, he left about eight hives behind for us in Benicia and said, “Why don’t you see what you can do with them?”

At first, we had no idea what we were doing.

There was a lot of learning, plenty of trial and error, and more than a few setbacks along the way. Beekeeping has a way of humbling you quickly — the bees are always the ones in charge. But slowly, season by season, we learned. We watched. We adjusted. And we fell in love with the process.

What started as a small family experiment has grown into something much bigger.

Today, our bees forage throughout Benicia’s hillsides, gardens, and open spaces, producing truly local honey that reflects the plants and seasons of our coastal California community. Every jar of honey we bottle is raw, unfiltered, and harvested right here in Benicia.

As our hives grew, so did our appreciation for everything the bees produce. In addition to honey, we began using beeswax and other natural bee byproducts to create simple products like lip balm and hand creams — natural ways to share more of what the hive provides.

Benicia Honey Co. is still a small, family-run operation. You’ll often find us working the hives together, bottling honey in our honey room, or sharing our products at local events and farmers markets.

Our goal is simple:
to bring truly local Benicia honey from our hives straight to your table while supporting healthy bees and a thriving local ecosystem.

Every jar tells the story of our bees, our town, and the journey that started with eight little hives and a lot of curiosity.