Bee Wild is a third-generation, family-owned gourmet raw honey company based in Gainesville, Georgia, founded by John Wright to bring wildcrafted North Georgia mountain honey to urban audiences. They specialize in small-batch varietal raw honeys — including award-winning Sourwood — as well as a 'Wild Side' line of infused honeys and spa-quality honey-based body care products. Their Sourwood Honey won the honey category at the 2017 Good Food Awards.

The Beekeeper's Story

Bee Wild grew out of founder John Wright's desire to bring a piece of his North Georgia mountain childhood to an urban audience. John's grandfather gifted his father 10 bee colonies on his 10th birthday in 1962, and the family kept bees on Lake Burton to harvest prized Sourwood honey. When John's grandfather passed away in 1977, his father inherited the beekeeping equipment and eventually built a honey house on Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia, going into the honey business full-time. John — equally at home in the mountains and Atlanta — decided to take his family's raw, wild North Georgia honey and bring it to a wider market, launching Bee Wild. The company describes itself as more than a traditional honey company: they practice sustainable beekeeping, are proud members of 1% For The Planet (donating 1% of annual revenue to honeybee conservation organizations), and have expanded into infused honeys and a line of honey-based skin care products developed with a licensed cosmetologist and esthetician.