A little about how we got started...

I, Jeffrey D. Hand am the inventer of the Honey Bee Container. It came into existance in my mind in the year 1995. I had stumbled across a good deal on (15) 55 gallon drums of honey in a local paper and being the entreprenur that I am, I decided to buy this honey knowing I could turn a profit at this price. It was a Florida blend of bakers honey. I thought there must be some schools and churches who would be interested in such a healthy fund raiser as this. I could fill up honey bears and market them that way. After I bought the honey, the honey bears, the labels, etc., and began filling them I thought to myself, "Why hasn't anybody ever came up with a bee container instead of a bear? The bear only has the love for honey and tears up peoples hives that they have worked so hard to build up." After thinking about this for some time I decided this is what the public wants. A Honey Bee Container to pour out their honey. And this would be great for boosting honey sales for all of the hard working beekeepers. After all the bee makes the honey, does all the work and deserves the recognition for all of its hard work and efforts.

At that time the only plastic character container on the market was the bear with a round tummy. The label on the tummy was crinkled up and I again thought, "We as Americans can do better than this. The label should look better than this." As time went on there were several more styles of honey bears that came on the market. But nothing else.

Over the next few years as I watched the honey bear container continuing to change from one aspect to another I continued to figure in my mind exactly how I wanted to market the Honey Bee Container. I knew what I wanted the Honey Bee Container to look like. So, one night I could not sleep. I got out some modeling clay and began to mold the bee. By the next morning I had it sculpted just the way I wanted it. I then made a model out of plaster of paris and painted it. Now, it's time to show off my idea. I took it down to a Patent Attorney and began the patent work on it. One year later, the Government issued me my first patent. I knew it wasn't perfected yet but it was very close. After I received my patent I took the model around to show it to beekeepers and honey packers around the eastern part of the U.S. And asked them, "What could I do to this container to make it easy for you to handle, sell and fill?" And, "What would be the ideal size of the Honey Bee Container?" Their first reaction was, Wow, this is a great idea. Why didn't I think of that? They told me the label area needed to be flat, for easier labeling. Because they have trouble with the bear labels on the rounded tummys. They said that they like the nice wide base on it. It won't be easy to tip over. They gave me other suggestions to improve the operations of running them down an assembly line. Then, the majority of people said a 1 lb. container would be most ideal. It fits great in your hand. It's not too small and it's not too big.

I listened and took the container and drawings, that I drew and modified to a company who makes professional models of this type of product. This model would be used to make the mold by. I showed them exactly how I wanted the model to be and I worked with them every step of the way to make sure it was perfected to my satisfaction. When it was finally ready, I took the model back to the Patent Attorney and proceeded to have a second Patent put on it. Then I took it to a mold maker, and the mold was made. The mold was then sent to the manufacturer and the first Honey Bee Container was in existence October 2000.

It was a great experience watching this project get off the ground. They say inventing is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. That's 100% true. But it is also very rewarding watching all of the smiling faces and being able to give something back to society.

The Honey Bee Container is doing great all over the world. And it will continue to do great. Nobody can resist this adorable Honey Bee!