Beekeepers in New Smyrna Beach, FL, Craft a One-of-a-Kind Product

Selling honey is a competitive business with producers throughout the region all competing with the same types, such as Orange Blossom and Gallberry honey. We make those types, too, at Sun Splash Nursery, but our drive was to produce a variety unlike any other. As beekeepers in New Smyrna Beach, FL, we wanted a one-of-a-kind strain of honey that hasn’t been seen before.

Our goal wasn’t easy. We wanted to make a monofloral honey (single flower), and we wanted to use the local Mosquito Lagoon (two miles wide and 13 miles long) and its unmatched concentration of mangrove plants as the source.

That was our challenge. Although the lagoon produced honey back in the 1800s, it was made illegal to place beehives or commercial operations there. Florida owns the lagoon, and it’s controlled by the Department of Environmental Protection with enforcement provided by the Marine Police.

Once we determined our mangrove honey was fantastic and could be produced at scale, we needed DEP permission to place thousands of beehives in the lagoon. The Department was operating under orders from the governor to protect and restore the mangroves and had no permits to issue because no one had ever asked to put hives there. We were given permit 001.

We are the only beekeepers with permission to use the lagoon, and we produce honey that is without equal. It is the purest mangrove honey in the world, and its popularity continues to grow.

When you sample our honey, you will be astounded by its taste and quality. The reactions of our guests range from “Wow!” to “Oh my God!” It’s that different, and it’s that good. We believe so strongly in our product that we will put it up for judging against any other mangrove honey, and we know it will win.