A MAJOR national department store chain is finding the sweet product of a South West business very much to its tastes.
A MAJOR national department store chain is finding the sweet product of a South West business very much to its tastes.
South West honey producer Waggle Dance Honey Company, founded by Jock Ross five years ago, has secured several large retail contracts over the past 18 months and is currently in negotiations with David Jones.
“I’ve been talking with David Jones for a number of years but one of the problems we face is that we are so far away,” Mr Ross told WA Business News.
“In the next two weeks we should know whether we have a deal. If it comes through it would double our production.”
Waggle Dance Honey Company currently produces between 50 and 70 tonnes of honey annually, 60 per cent of which is sold through Coles Supermarkets. Other customers include Foodland, independent supermarkets and stores throughout the South West.
The deal struck with Coles Supermarkets in 2001, however, was the first major breakthrough for the producer.
The Coles Margaret River store’s dry goods manager was impressed by the honey and wanted it on the shelves of the Coles Margaret River Store. The next battle was to find shelf space on Coles stores throughout the State.
“Coles grade all the products that they stock and they graded us on the lowest level. That meant I had to canvass every store manager in the State to sell the honey,” Mr Ross said.
“I was up and back [South West to Perth] and sent samples off to Geraldton and Manjimup and visited most of the store managers. Now there are just two stores in WA that don’t sell it.”
Waggle Dance’s honey harvest methods are different to bigger manufacturers, making the honey more nutritious and tastier, ac-cording to Mr Ross.
“During winter time honey crystallises, and because bigger manufacturers store honey in drums, the only way to get it out is to apply heat to it,” he said.
“We take it straight from the comb and heat it for about an hour and then put it in the jar. It is a very hands-on process.
“There are a lot of enzymes in honey that are heat sensitive. The more you knock it the less quality it has.”
Add to that the unique flavours found in the South West and you have one of the world’s best honeys, Mr Ross said.
“I think it has a lot to do with the rainfall and some of the flowers we have here, he said.
“The karri flower can be a long wait to harvest but when you do it is the most delightful honey you can get.”
The company now produces 12 different varieties of honey.
And why Waggle Dance? The term is the name given to the communication between worker bees when searching for pollen or nectar.
The dancing bee moves in a figure-eight pattern and with a sideways wagging motion of the body. The greater the number of waggings, the closer the food supply.
