TOFIELD, Alta. – Like many farmer inventions, Verry Berry Honey, developed by Sam and Sandra Thiessen, grew out of the collapse of crop prices.
Honey prices fell a year after the grain and sheep farmers bought a honeybee business, and they needed to add value to their honey.
It was through “prayer and research” that the family thought about pairing honey with fresh fruit to enhance the flavour and set it apart from other honey sold in grocery stores.
“We just started playing around with flavours,” Sandra Thiessen said from the family’s on-farm storefront and production facility.
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“We did a lot of research into what would work. We had a lot of guinea pigs.”
The trouble with a honey and fruit combination is too much moisture in the mix , which causes the honey to ferment. After two years of research, the Thiessens created the secret recipes for their Verry Berry Honey.
“The recipes are a well-kept secret. Even our kids don’t know them.”
They sell 13 flavours of fruit honey and five flavours of barbecue glazes at farmers’ markets, trade shows and stores in Canada and the United States.
Black raspberry and cinnamon honey are their most popular flavours for toast, but lemon honey and peppermint honey are popular with people who like honey in their tea.
“We’ve had a lot of suggestions for saskatoon honey and in January want to do research on honey salad dressing,” she said.
A lot of research also went into jars, bottles and labels to set their honey apart from the traditional white pails of honey and home-made labels stuck on the top of the pail.
“There’s a lot of people out there producing for the Wal-Marts, but there’s not a lot of produce for the high end gourmet stores.”
Thiessen said government officials use Verry Berry Honey products as promotional gifts, including the prime minister and Alberta premier.
“A lot of people are willing to pay good dollars, but it has to look appealing.”
The family fills jars and packs orders for farmers’ markets in Edmonton and St. Albert, Alta. They use a special belt heater to warm, pasteurize and strain barrels of honey.
Fresh fruit is added in a separate mixing process and the mixture is then bottled and cooled to produce creamed honey.
When the Thiessens’ four home-schooled children finish their homework, they join their parents in the family business.
The 10-year-old grows strawberries and makes body butter. The 14-year-old makes honey straws and lip balm. The 17-year-old makes beeswax candles and the 19-year-old is in charge of website marketing and advertising.
Thiessen said they need about 50 barrels of honey a year to keep up with demand. This year their 200 hives produced 60 barrels, more than enough for their farmers’ markets booths.
“This was a good thing to do,” she said.
