It All Started With a Beehive: TruBee Honey

TruBee Honey

local business of the week

What started as just a beehive transformed entrepreneurs Jeff Otto and wife Laura Kimball into the business owners of TruBee Honey.

Located in Arrington, these beekeepers have put over 10 years into their business, from selling their local honey at farmers markets, to having over 80 vendors sell their products.

Otto says he grew up near a beekeeper, and always saw the activity as something fun he would like to try. So for Christmas one year, Kimball surprised him with a beehive.

In his first year of beekeeping, Otto had more honey than he could imagine, so the couple started giving it away as gifts to friends and family. But the next season, Otto and Kimball decided to see how well their honey would do at the farmers market.

“We thought we were crazy,” Kimball said. She didn’t even know if they should bring change with them for customers. But in one day, their honey was so popular that they ran out. Afterwards, the couple realized this was the affirmation they needed to grow their business.

The “free-range” bees TruBee uses for their honeys are not confined to a single-source diet, but instead the bees are foragers, in locations where their honey is made from tulip poplar, fruit blossoms, black locust, wildflowers, herbs and clover. Each jar captures the taste of nature in a particular place and time.

With the care and value that goes into their honey, TruBee picks retailers that understand their purpose: to maintain the quality and integrity of their product. The company continues to grow, with nearly 30 local vendors in Middle Tennessee and about 80 vendors in total.

TrueBee HoneyLocally, you can find TruBee Honey at these locations:

  • Puckett’s Grocery and Restaurant, Leiper’s Fork, 4142 Old Hillsboro Road
  • High Brow Brew, 188 Front Street in Franklin (Westhaven)
  • Finnleys Good Findings, 435 Main St in Franklin
  • Simply Living Life,6990 Moores Lane in Brentwood
  • C’est Moi,7020 Church St E in Brentwood
  • Olivia Olive Oil, 443 Cool Springs Blvd,Suite 103 in Franklin
  • Kroger, 1203 Murfreesboro Road in Franklin
  • Linen and Rust, 4812 Murfreesboro Rd, Suite C in Arrington
  • Hatcher Family Dairy Store, 6561 Arno Road in College Grove
  • The Tin Cottage,123 S. Margin St in Franklin
  • Savory Spice Shop, 324 Main St in Franklin

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