Accolades for buzzing business
Afruitless
search for natural, toxin-free products to soothe the skin of a newborn baby sparked a thriving, award-winning business for Tanya and Warren Stanley.
The Stanleys, a third-generation beekeeping family from Douglas, launched Beetanicals in 2018 after three years of research, ingredient sourcing and product testing.
Their journey started in 2015, following the arrival of their eldest son, Cooper.
Mrs Stanley searched high and low for natural products to soothe her son’s dry, sensitive skin and when her search came up empty, she decided to make her own.
“Being a long-time lover of bees I was well aware of the wonderful antibacterial and nurturing benefits of beeswax,” she said.
“The product I had been searching for was right before my eyes.
“I quite quickly connected with experts about how to formulate products properly, because I wanted to create something we were confident in and could trust to use on our own family.”
After launching Beetanicals as a business, Mrs Stanley soon found other people felt the same way.
Several Wimmera stores were quick to add the fledgling toxin-free brand to their wares and positive reviews and word-of-mouth advertising helped boost sales.
Critical acclaim soon followed, including three Organic Beauty Awards in the mama and baby category in March.
Beetanicals celebrated its biggest success this month, when the small business that started in the family kitchen claimed six accolades in the global 2020 Beauty Shortlist Mama and Baby Awards.
Bee Soothed Balm won best multipurpose balm, Yellow Box Honey won best food product and four products won editor’s choice awards, Queen Beetanicals Belly Bee Nourished Balm and Queen Beetanicals Belly Balm in the mama-beauty category and Beetanicals Bee Well Balm and Baby Beetanicals Bee Well Balm in the baby category.
The sponsor-free awards celebrate the most-loved natural baby, beauty, wellness and eco home products created by ethical brands and tested by experts.
A panel of specialist independent judges considered entries from more than 16 countries.
Mrs Stanley said she was both overjoyed and shocked to win recognition at that level.
“We know we’ve put so much hard work into creating products that are safe and effective and it’s amazing to be recognised,” she said.
Mrs Stanley said she entered the awards last year as a relatively new business – Beetanicals turns two in September – and was pleased to pick up a couple of editor’s choice awards.
“Another year on, we are a more established business,” she said.
“We’ve had an extra 12 months of feedback and reviews and we were excited to apply for the awards again this year.
“We are so overwhelmed with joy with the recognition for our balms and honey.
“It is a dream come true for so many families to be benefitting from our natural products locally and around Australia.
“The awards also help our credibility, especially as a small, family-run business.”
Blown away
Judge Katie Hill said she was blown away by the scope and volume of innovative natural products entered.
“I was also really pleased to see wellbeing built into products’ DNA; healing, soothing, relaxing and rejuvenating natural ingredients were the order of the day, which is a great sign that holistic health is filtering into the mainstream,” she said.
“Huge congratulations to all these brilliant winners, which are meeting the growing demand for non-toxic products and lifestyles.”
Mrs Stanley said Beetanicals was a team effort, with many people contributing to the business’s success.
“Our local stockists in the Wimmera and surrounds are incredible,” she said.
“Even through these times with COVID, people are sharing our products on Australian Made and Owned social media pages and are committed to shopping local.
“We are very fortunate to have support from family, particularly my mum who helps pack orders.
“And of course, Warren is a big part of what we do. He co-founded the business and he’s the head beekeeper.
“In season he works seven days a week and other times he is more flexible.”
Mrs Stanley said flexibility was key to running a business while raising two children, living remotely and maintaining a household.
She said Cooper, five, and Toby, two, loved being involved in the business, particularly driving around checking out bee sites and visiting their grandfather’s honey shed.
She said although it could be difficult ‘keeping all the balls in the air’, she felt blessed to live in a beautiful part of the country and work in a family business committed to using many Australian ingredients and supporting other small enterprises.
Beetanicals is stocked in 23 stores and international interest is growing.
“We have found we get quite a few emails from places that want to distribute our products,” Mrs Stanley said.
“That’s exciting, but we need to make sure those distributors will nurture our brand the way we have – we won’t distribute with just anyone.”
Along with ‘natural, safe, effective and transparent products for families’, Beetanicals also produces a range of premium single-line honey following the beekeeping values of Mr Stanley’s parents, Bev and John of Stanley’s Honey, established in 1939.