He wanted to launch an enterprise that is socially conscious and after realizing the presence of adulterated honey in the market, decided to offer better options to consumers.
A38-year-old Gujarat man left behind a lucrative career as a chartered accountant (CA) to sell honey. Pratik Ghoda for 14 years handled the funding processes of many companies and helped establish them from scratch. The experience definitely came in handy when he decided on starting his own business.
He wanted to launch an enterprise that is socially conscious and after realizing the presence of adulterated honey in the market which made the situation worse for human health and caused serious repercussions, Ghoda dived into honey business. He worked towards offering pure honey and building a business that is sustainable and helps in bee conservation. His research opened doors into the field of bee rearing and pure honey.
Once a CA, he is now marketing honey under the name ‘Bee Base’, registered under Bee Base Pvt Ltd, on various social media platforms.
According to a report of The Better India, Pratik invested Rs 15 lakh to buy 300 beehive boxes to start the Bee Base Pvt Ltd in December 2019. Within a year, the startup has sold four tonnes of honey, earning over Rs 15 lakh in revenue. The business aims to reach earnings up to Rs 50 lakh in 2021. According to him, each batch harvested every fortnight produces enough to earn about Rs 6 lakh.
In absence of farmland or space to accommodate the bees, he collaborated with farmers, allowing him to rear the bees and share commission in return. He harvested around one tonne of honey in the first quarter.
After his business was hit due to COVID-19 pandemic and honey was not reaching customers via retail stores, he promoted and marketed honey under the name Bee Base, registered under Bee Base Pvt Ltd, on various social media platforms.
The startup offers honey in 11 flavours, including ginger, lemon, tulsi (Holy basil), ajwain (carom), drumstick, eucalyptus, raw, multiflora, litchi, saffron and saunf (fennel). The cost of Bee Base honey ranges from Rs 600 to Rs 900 per kilo, depending on the flavour.
