A decade following Flow Hive, another Australian company rethinks beekeeping

Ten years after the runaway success of the Flow Hive, HiveKeepers has started a Kickstarter to fund a new, Australian-made method of harvesting honey for hobbyists and beekeepers, following what it says is five years of research and development.

According to a statement from the company on Tuesday, the Micro Honey Harvester system (pictured) is compact and eliminates “many of the traditional challenges of honey extraction” to make the task cleaner and quicker.

“Our goal is to make beekeeping easier so that more people can experience the pleasure of harvesting fresh honey straight from their own hives,” said CEO Simon Mildren.

Mildren said the harvester allows beekeepers to take honey next to a hive while checking on their bees, and represented, “a movement towards sustainable beekeeping and a transparent supply chain. 

“I see a future whereby we bridge the gap between the hive and the consumer and deliver the purest honey experience to a consumer without them needing to have a beehive”.

Asked if the hive was being made domestically, HiveKeepers told @AuManufacturing the system is “currently being made… in Collingwood, VIC” by a contractor. “We are wanting to keep everything on shore.”

The Micro Honey Harvester’s Kickstarter campaign launches on March 25th or 26th, “depending on time zone”, and you can follow it here.

Should the campaign be successful, it’s bound to be compared to the Flow Hive Kickstarter in 2015.

At the time, father-and-son team Cedar and Stuart Anderson sought $US 70,000 in crowdfunding pledges to get to production. Viral interest saw the pair raise $US 12.2 million in four weeks, with 25,000 orders across more than 100 countries.

The Flow Hive was delivered with the help of Brisbane-based design and manufacturing house Evolve Group.

Picture: supplied