Elgin, Minn. – Many Americans don’t understand that pollinators are responsible for one in three bites of food we eat and their populations are under significant pressure. One partnership aims to change that through education. Honeybear Brands®, a leading grower, packer, and shipper of top apple varieties, is partnering with the National Honey Board and retailers like Cub to educate consumers at the store level about the need to protect pollinators, specifically honey bees.
The unique alignment between Honeybear Brands and Cub comes to life in-store with displays that raise awareness about the importance of honey bee pollination and help consumers connect the dots between honey bees and apples. In fact, the work that a healthy hive of honey bees does to produce one pound of honey also results in the pollination of 1,000 apples!
The partnership goes one step further — a portion of Fall in-store proceeds are being used to develop new pollinator habitats. The pollinator habitats will be planted alongside apple orchards on behalf of the retailer with subsequent social programming being shared with consumers of this collaborative partnership.
“Cub jumped at the chance to partner with Honeybear to help solve a serious issue in our agriculture community. Honeybear is a great company and we love working with our partners especially when it comes to creative solutions that support our environment and sustainability,” says Mike Stigers, Chief Executive Officer, Cub.
““We are pleased to partner with Midwest retailer Cub, the number one grocery chain in Minnesota. The grocer has already pledged to sponsor the development of local acres of pollinator habitat and to showcase the displays during the month of September. Along with the National Honey Board, we will collectively increase awareness of honey bees – which are so critical to the development of our apples. In the busyness of life, we can sometimes forget how fragile the food system can be, so these displays are a great way to remind shoppers about the importance of honey bees and maybe even inspire them to plant their own pollinator gardens,” says Kristi Harris, Brand Manager, Honeybear Brands.
Pollinator populations are under pressure, prompting the need to help honey bee populations thrive for the future of the farming and food industry. This increase in pollinator habitats will have a positive impact on native pollinator abundance and is crucial to the food supply chain.
About Honeybear Brands
Honeybear is a leading grower and developer of premium apple varieties. Family owned and operated for more than forty years, Honeybear still employs the same hands-on, personal attention to each and every apple variety produced while holding to responsible sustainability practices. As a leading vertically integrated, dual hemisphere grower, packer, shipper, Honeybear offers supply of premium apples and pears on a year-round basis. Honeybear Brands is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wescott Agri Products. For more information about Honeybear, visit www.honeybearbrands.com and follow us on Facebook.
Honeybear® is trademarks of Wescott Agri Products.
About National Honey Board
The National Honey Board (NHB) is an industry-funded agriculture promotion group that works to educate consumers about the benefits and uses for honey and honey products through research, marketing and promotional programs. The Board’s work, funded by an assessment on domestic and imported honey, is designed to increase the awareness and usage of honey by consumers, the foodservice industry and food manufacturers. The ten-member-Board, appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, represents producers (beekeepers), packers, importers and a marketing cooperative. For more information, visit www.honey.com.
About CUB
CUB, based in Stillwater, Minn., was established in 1968 as one of the nation’s first discount grocery stores. The organization, which is owned by parent company UNFI, operates 79 grocery stores in Minnesota and Illinois, each of which offers a wide selection of fresh products and great values throughout the store to meet consumer’s everyday grocery needs. As the hometown grocer for over 50 years, CUB has made it a priority to be a good corporate citizen by helping to create healthy and thriving communities that enhance the quality of life for its customers, employees and neighbors. For company news and information, follow us on Twitter® at @CUBFoods and Facebook® at www.facebook.com/CUB, or visit our website at www.CUB.com.
