Hikiän Biodynamic Honey: Premium biodynamic honey from the woods of Finland

Located in the Finnish countryside, in a forest an hour north of Helsinki, you’ll find the family business Hikiän Biodynamic Honey, producing premium products for the health-conscious consumer who wants to do good for the environment. The name, Hikiän, is borrowed from the village Hikiä, where Reko Nieminen now runs the small business devoted to creating the cleanest raw honey, just as when it all started over 70 years ago.

During the late 1940s, in the aftermath of the Second World War, Finland, like many countries in Europe, had a scarcity of food supplies. By setting up beehives, Hikiä’s founder Martti Nuotio, Reko Nieminen’s grandfather, not only supplied his own family with sweet honey, but also used it to trade with neighbours. In those humble times, honey was seen as a luxury. Surrounded by forest, far from cars and big roads that could contaminate the product, the bees could fly freely without much impact from the human world. “The best honey is produced with as little interference as possible from us,” says Reko Nieminen. Today, they continue to live up to their word.

To earn the right to put the Demeter logo on their products, an international third-party certificate for biodynamic products, they must comply with a range of criteria. These include using only natural materials and honeycombs in the hives, and no use of pesticides. By frequently testing the honey for over 600 different substances, including pesticides that have previously been found to cause the deaths of many bees, the purity of the honey can be ensured.

Honey loses a lot of its health benefits when it’s heated over 40 degrees. To keep the nutrients and healing properties intact, Hikiän Biodynamic honey is never heated. To protect the honey on its way from the beehive to your home, Hikiän honey is packed in deep-purple glass jars that block UV light. The result is a sleek and elegant-looking premium product that does good for the environment. Bees are one of the most important pollinators we have on the planet. As they pollinate flowers and crops, they are crucial for our food supply, and the survival of the planet as we know it. Supporting your local beekeeper is an effective way to support the ecosystem and encourage bee populations, which have dwindled due to the overuse of pesticides.

Hikiän don’t only sell honey, they also produce propolis tincture. Propolis is a wax-like product that the Hikiän bees produce by collecting tree sap, mainly from pine and spruce trees in their surroundings, and mixing it with their enzymes. Humans have used propolis for thousands of years for its antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties – the same reasons why bees produce it. By producing propolis, the bees protect themselves from bacteria inside the hive, keeping it safe and clean. Hikiän produces the propolis tincture by extracting it with alcohol, and the result can be used both internally and externally, to heal everything from stomach issues to skin rashes.

Ever since Reko Nieminen’s grandfather founded the business, Hikiän has honoured Finnish nature. Combining sustainable beekeeping with quality is one of the founding pillars. By carefully using the forest to create the optimal environment for the bees to live and work their magic, they ensure their products are of the highest standard. By living up to the criteria of biodynamic farming, Hikiän Biodynamic Honey does good from the inside and out – for us, the bees and the planet.

As a part of their work on saving the bees, Hikiän also offers companies and private consumers the opportunity to adopt a hive. Depending on how much you invest, you can own a hive with your logo on it, and receive jars of honey from your adopted hive.

Those curious about adopting a beehive or purchasing Hikiän Biodynamic Honey and Hikiän Propolis can learn more on the Hikiän website.

Left: Reko Nieminen. Photo: Hikian Pixoi

Web: www.hikian.com
Instagram: @hikianofficial