This blog is devoted to our Mate of the Month and fellow ethical business Neve's Bees - Oxfordshire Beekeepers making totally natural skincare from pure, natural plant oils and butters blended with their wildcrafted beeswax. Neve's Bees donate 10% of their profits to wildlife causes to help bring back our wildflower meadows and the bees and other pollinators they support. Here we share their inspiring business journey from the humble beginnings of a single beehive in their back garden, to giving a TEDx talk on what we can learn from bees to encourage us to create a harmonious relationship with our environment.
How did Neve's Bees start?
Back in 2011, Neve, Julie's daughter, was inspired by beehives and honey when viewing a new family house to buy and decided they should keep bees. Neve was 9 years old at the time and Grandad Jim bought her their very first hive for her 10th Birthday! Fast forward almost two decades and they now have a thriving apiary and a wide range of natural skincare products.
All Neve's Bees skincare products and gifts are made from 100% natural plant oils, butters and botanicals blended with their pure wildcrafted beeswax and produced in their workshop in West Oxfordshire. They don't use unnecessary water and the subsequent ‘chemical’ emulsifiers, preservatives, fillers and other ‘nasties’ used in most high-street brands. They have a wide range of best-selling products, including natural beeswax lip balms to soothe and moisturise your lips, beeswax hand salve that absorbs quickly to leave your skin feeling supple, soft and utterly looked after, and beeswax cuticle butter to soothe irritated cuticles and help your nails shine. We also have their natural face care range, (including face oil, night balm, rose spritz and cleansing face balm!), plus their new 'for men' range, in our Oxford Covered Market store and on our website. Come check them out!
The bees help them and they help the bees: How are they saving bees?
Neve's Bees shared with us that since 1950 it is estimated that we have lost 98% of wildflower meadows in the UK. Without these, our pollinators and the other creatures who feed on them (ultimately including ourselves!) cannot survive. However, Neve's Bees are on a mission to create new mini-meadows all over the UK and bring back our wildflowers and the bees they support. Here's some of the great ways that Neve's Bees are making a difference:
- They donate 10% of their profits to The Wildlife Trust and other local nature recovery charities to preserve their nature reserves, restore their meadows and educate children to look after nature.
- They're working with local Eynsham Nature Recovery group to bring back wildflower meadows along the Thames Valley and throughout Oxfordshire.
- Throughout the year, they give away packs of pollinator-friendly wildflower seeds for customers to plant in their gardens, parks, verges – or wherever people think needs some wildflowers. These little patches of wildflowers throughout the country join together to create habitats for the pollinators to flourish.
- They share hints, tips and interesting information to help customers and their friends and family to be part of nature’s recovery and to feel the joy that immersion in the natural world can bring.
Awards and TEDx Talks
2022 was a very exciting year for Neve's Bees as Founder Julie shared five lessons we can all learn from bees to encourage us to create a harmonious relationship with our environment as part of the TEDx Banbury event in October 2022. You can watch it here!
Even more recently, Neve's Bees won the Sustainable Business Award in the 2023 Oxfordshire’s Business Awards! The judges praised Neve’s Bees for the thoughtfulness, integrity and energy to ensure a truly sustainable business. We couldn't agree more, and are so excited to stock them!
