A Sydney-based migrant businessman has carved out a unique and successful niche for himself running a very unconventional Australian business - selling beekeeping supplies.
"I started the business from a small Hornsby warehouse in Sydney's North and after six years now I have three warehouses and business keeps growing," says Atif Jamil, owner of Hornsby Beekeeping Supplies.
With the popularity of nostalgia-influenced DIY Produce such as home-brew craft beer on the rise, backyard beekeeping, with its added reward of home-honey production, is rapidly increasing in popularity and in return, creating opportunities for small businesses.
According to the Australian honey bee industrial council, the Australian honey bee industry consists of approximately 12,000 registered beekeepers who own a total of around 520,000 hives - and they're not all commercial producers.
The Amateur Beekeeper Association (ABA) NSW currently has 20 clubs and branches throughout NSW, providing information and support to over 1,000 amateur beekeepers - and so it was that one migrant decided to step in and capture some of this amateur market.
Atif Jamil from Pakistan took over the beekeeping business accidentally while working as a helper with his beekeeper friend - and soon the business came up for sale.
"A beekeeping supply business was on sale in 2009," Jamil tells SBS Urdu. "My friends said 'Let’s jump into it and resign our jobs' - so I bit the bullet."
It wasn't long before Jamil was running the whole show.
"After two years, friend retired and I am on my own now," he explains.
Like any other business, the beekeeping supply business has its own risks. Jamil explains, "the beekeeping business is a gamble - one year you make good money but the next season you need to spend from the pocket."
All things considered, business isn't going too badly for Jamil. Seven years back, this new migrant began his business of from one small warehouse of Sydney - and today he owns three warehouses and his supplies range is increasing.
"In addition to that we now have a factory of bee industry gear in Pakistan that fulfills seventy per cent of our supplies."
Launching a web store for the company helped open up a whole new market for Jamil. "Online orders are gaining momentum now," he says.
And it's not just the hives themselves that people can order. "Other than bee hive gear and accessories, we also supply bees and queen bees," explains Jamil.
Below: Atif Jamil demonstrates what you can order in your home-beekeeping kits.
Jamil says he uses his business as an opportunity to take on as much knowledge as he can about the environment as well as running a business.
"Local knowledge about bees, their nature, weather, seasons and life cycle is a very important part of this business," he says.
Jamil explains that building good relationships with his customers is vital for business because, "word of mouth is the only campaign that produces successful marketing results with backyard beehive lovers."
Listen to Atif Jamil's full interview (in Urdu) with SBS Urdu, below:
Honey Quality
Quality of honey is a heavily reliant on the surrounding plants and environment. Any environmental pollution can pollute it too. The flavour, colour and sweetness of honey depend son which type of flower the nectar was collected from.
Despite all the benefits of this golden liquid, food watchers and environmentalists regularly remind us that the quality of food such as honey is reliant on plants and environment substances. Hazardous environmental conditions can pollute honey and there is always a risk that traces of heavy metals, pesticides and antibiotics could be found in honey.
Atif Jamil with Honeycomb produced from his home beekeeping supplies Source: Supplied
Uses for Honey
Honey is also used for a variety of medicinal and cosmetic purposes. It's traditionally popular in everything gtom breakfasts, brunch, lunch, barbecues and picnics, to meats, smoothies, teas, cocktails, and restorative beverages. Try out some of the diverse and delicious uses for the sumptuously sticky substance with this selection of recipes from SBS Food below:
