Brand Interview with Björn’s Colorado Honey Co-founder, Lara Boudreaux
By Jaclyn Tracy
Photo by Lara Boudreaux
Björn’s Colorado Honey offers Boulder and Denver honey as well as bee-based skincare featuring beeswax, honey, and propolis. I am a huge fan of this honey myself! Björn’s Colorado Honey is raw and unfiltered, providing great taste plus the benefits of local pollen. They are small-batch, local honey producers based in Boulder. Pontus, Björn’s Colorado Honey beekeeper, grew up in Sweden and learned the practice from his grandfather Björn; the company namesake. Pontus proudly brings the art of beekeeping and honey-making to Colorado!
This is our interview with the co-founder, Lara Boudreaux on creating the finest Colorado honey.
Who are you? What motivates you? What is your WHY?
I'm Lara Boudreaux, wife of Pontus Jakobsson, the beekeeper at Björn's Colorado Honey. I handle all things creative here. I'm motivated to create beautiful photos, videos, recipes, and content about our brand. Björn's aims to provide top-quality local honey produced in our Swedish family tradition for the Colorado market.
What inspired you to launch Bjorns Colorado Honey?
Our beekeeper Pontus grew up in Sweden and learned the practice from his grandfather Björn, the company namesake. Our brand is a celebration of Pontus' Swedish roots and the beekeeping heritage he comes from.
Photo by Mike Thurk
Photo by Lara Boudreaux
BJORN COLORADO HONEY IS RAW AND UNFILTERED,
PROVIDING GREAT TASTE PLUS THE BENEFITS OF LOCAL POLLEN
Tell us about the benefits of propolis.
Propolis, an age-old remedy made by the bees from tree and plant resins, keeps germs out of their hive. It is known to bolster the immune system and contains antifungal and antibacterial properties. Propolis Honey was created by Pontus' father, Torbjörn, in Sweden, and it quickly became a hit. When Pontus moved to Colorado, he couldn't resist whipping up his own batch. By blending Colorado honey with high-quality propolis extract, we boost honey's health benefits.
How do you use your honey?
I like to use our different honey varieties for different applications. For example, I use the Raw Traditional Honey for sweetening drinks like hot tea, homemade lemonade, and even coffee. I also use it in savory recipes like glazed roasted carrots or Korean barbequed beef bulgogi. Our Propolis Honey is my daily immune booster. I eat a teaspoonful each evening after dinner. It curbs my sweet cravings and helps boost my immune system while killing germs in my throat and mouth. It's also perfect for our 6-year-old daughter Ester has a cough or sore throat. Our Lemon Honey is my treat! I use it to sweeten fruit salad or top homemade vanilla ice cream. It's also perfect for baking lemon pound cake!
What sustainable practices does Bjorn Colorado Honey maintain?
Our beekeeper Pontus has worked hard over the last ten years to build hive yards on private land and organic farms in the Boulder County and Denver area. These hive yards allow us to sustainably source honey from the Boulder/Denver metro area, which is important to customers looking for truly local honey.
We never move our hives or use them for pollination services; this helps keep our bees healthy and happy. We also only treat for parasites or diseases when necessary and only with organic methods. We also rotate treatments in accordance with beekeeping best practices.
Pontus prides himself on his beekeeping knowledge based on three generations of beekeeping and honey production in Sweden. Europeans have been on the cutting edge of sustainable beekeeping, and these methods benefit our practice here in Colorado.
Supporting local beekeeping helps support area farmers, open space, and ecosystems. We love being Colorado beekeepers and pride ourselves on our handcrafted honey and bee-based products!
Photo by Mike Thurk
Photo by Mike Thurk
Where are you on your sustainable journey & are there any eco-friendly tips you'd like to share
We love reusing our honey jars! Because they are glass, they make great containers for storage in the kitchen, think dried goods or spices. I also love using them for hot tea! When your honey jar is almost empty, and just a bit of honey is left in the bottom, try brewing your favorite tea directly in the jar. It makes a fun to-go container, and you don't waste a drop of that yummy honey!
What do you want our community to know about Bjorn Colorado Honey?
We have two retail stores where you can find our products in Breckenridge and Steamboat Springs, Colorado. They are open daily, and in addition to carrying all our honey and skincare products, they also feature several other colorado food producers and makers. We sample all our honey varieties and honeycomb daily!
Check out our Instagram or subscribe to our newsletter to learn about new product releases coming in 2023!
Photo by Lara Boudreaux
Photo by Lara Boudreaux
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jaclyn Tracy is the founder of SISTAIN. Her goal is to make a greater difference by educating, activating and making sustainable consumerism not only easier, but aspirational. She believes success is in the collective impact, getting a whole group of people to change their behavior by committing to choosing sustainable brands, less waste and imperfect progress.
