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A pair of local entrepreneurs appeared on the hit BBC TV show Dragons’ Den on Thursday in a bid to win investment for their bee-saving business.
A pair of local entrepreneurs appeared on the hit BBC TV show Dragons’ Den in a bid to win investment for their bee-saving business.
Co-founders and bee enthusiasts Faye Whitley and Jacob Powell appeared on the new series of BBC One's Dragons’ Den. The programme, which aired on Thursday, February 6, at 8 pm and saw the couple pitch for investment in their company, Beevive.
The couple, whose passion for nature and the great outdoors inspired their invention, share their journey and demonstrate their bee-friendly products designed to educate and encourage others to take positive steps to help bees thrive.
Following a chance encounter with a tired bee in 2018, Faye and Jacob struggled to find any flowers nearby to rest the bee upon and took to asking a nearby café for a sugar water solution. After watching the bee drink the solution and buzz away, the couple felt a great sense of pride and began researching and learning more about bees. Before long, they came up with the simple yet effective concept of the “Bee Revival Kit.”
Their product, a keyring, contains a small bottle of bee food syrup “for the next time you see a bee in need, and there are no flowers nearby,” explains Jacob.
What started as a weekend hobby, building bee revival kits to sell at local markets, has since flourished into a full-scale business that now employs six people. Their idea resonates with some of the biggest names in the bee-friendly world, including the RSPB, the Wildlife Trusts, and WWF, all of which stock their keyrings. Most recently, their award-winning DIY bee hotel kits have also been added to the product range.
The couple’s pitch offered an insight into their love and passion for their invention while amplifying their enthusiasm for connecting people with nature in a fun and interactive way. Their journey, from a weekend venture to a nationally recognised brand raising awareness of the importance of bees, epitomizes their originality, creativity, and the importance of their mission.
Catch their episode on BBC iPlayer to view the outcome of their pitch, their appearance on the show inspires the entrepreneurial mindset, showcasing a business created from a personal experience and a passion to want to do more.
The episode sees Faye and Jacob pitch their business to Peter Jones, Steven Bartlett, Deborah Meaden, Sara Davies, and Touker Suleyman.
Faye explains her experience on Dragons’ Den “was a terrifying, yet amazing experience – and a great opportunity to spread awareness on the importance of bees and introduce people to our invention, the Bee Revival Kit. The whole experience is one I will certainly never forget.”
“Being in the Den was an opportunity I’d never even dreamt of. The nerves we felt in the lead-up to our time in the Den was crippling, but as soon as we walked through the lift doors and began our pitch, the anticipation disappeared and the anxiety drifted away with it,” says Jacob.
“This business is our baby. We’ve taken it from our kitchen table to the spare bedroom, and now we work out of a fully operational studio with a growing team. We’ve successfully turned our passion and love for bees into a business that has not only created job opportunities for others but also provides products with meaning that empower and encourage individuals of all ages to make a positive difference. We couldn’t be prouder.”
The programme airs on BBC One on Thursday, February 6.
ABOUT OUR BUSINESS
Beevive was co-founded by bee enthusiasts Jacob Powell and Faye Whitley in 2018, inspired by a spontaneous encounter with a tired bee while they were on holiday in Cornwall. This moment led to the creation of the Original Bee Revival Kit, designed to enable everyone to revive an exhausted bee when there are no nectar-rich, bee-friendly flowers around.
Co-founder Faye shares their journey:
“Fuelled by our encounter with the tired bee, we began falling in love with bees, and sadly learnt of the challenges they are facing. A bee's main food source is flowers, and since the 1930s, the UK has lost 97% of our wildflower meadows, with 35 bee species now under threat of extinction. We wanted to do something to help and encourage others to do the same!”
This is when Faye and Jacob began designing their flagship product, The Bee Revival Kit—a keyring containing a small bottle of bee food syrup, ready for the next time you see a bee in need.