Honey producer from Trøgstad wins award

‘We at Kjartans Honning are both grateful and humbled to have received this award. It means a great deal to us and to everyone who supplies us with honey,’ says Marianne Høitomt Dahl of Kjartans Honning.

The story of Kjartans Honning began two generations ago. Kjartan’s grandfather, Haakon Adelsten Dahl, was a respected beekeeper who continued tending his bees until he was 99. It was through his grandfather that Kjartan developed an interest in bees, beekeeping and nature as a young boy. Kjartan started keeping bees himself at the age of 10 and learned much of what he knows from his grandfather.

Kjartans Honning AS is a family business with a passion for bees, nature and high-quality honey. Its business idea is to refine and develop Norwegian honey into quality products with a clear provenance, high quality and a strong Norwegian identity.

Highly impressed jury
‘The jury is highly impressed that Kjartans Honning has now brought as many as 50 beekeepers on board,’ says Kristin Willoch Haugen, EVP of Innovation Norway East.

In addition to the extensive and important pollination this represents and the large volume of honey it produces, the company also participates in medical research projects and exports to some of the world's largest skincare brands.

The company began selling honey in 1986, with around 200 beehives and only its own produce for sale. Ten years later, the company began sourcing honey and raw materials from other beekeepers who wanted to bring high-quality products to consumers.

‘Nature is the very foundation of our business. The different types of honey reflect the plants and areas where the bees gather nectar, giving each product its own flavour, colour and character. We wanted to offer single-flower honeys from different plants rather than simply blending all the varieties into one honey.’

The award winner says they are particularly passionate about encouraging more young people to take up beekeeping and honey production:

‘We have always focused on encouraging more young people to take up beekeeping, so that we can grow the number of commercial beekeepers. Many of Norway’s beekeepers are older, so attracting younger people is very important.’