An environmentally friendly hobby becomes a health-conscious business for the Kauffman family.

Photos by Brandon Kauffman

Nick and Renee Kauffman are dedicated to bringing all-natural products to their customers. In a time when this is an increasingly popular endeavor, it is important to provide the highest quality and most unique products. These are the foundational pillars on which Honeysuckle Acres proudly stands.

The Products

In 2007, the Kauffman family went on a camping trip to a friend’s home in northern

Missouri. Nick was inspired by the trip, which included a lake, beehives, and goats. “We actually brought two goats home from that trip,” he says.

Along with the goats, Nick brought home the idea to begin keeping his own bees, which led to the production of his own raw honey.

That was all it took to start the family business. While beekeeping is an intensive and, at times, expensive practice, the Kauffmans are passionate about creating products that are healthy and useful for themselves and their customers. “Whatever we can use, we make and we sell,” says Renee. (With a baby on the way, the Kauffmans advise us to look out for Honeysuckle Acres baby products in the near future.)

The Kauffmans are passionate about creating products that are healthy and useful.

Not only are the products completely natural, but Nick also stays away from chemicals and pesticides throughout the beekeeping and honey retrieval process.

“Plus, there are never any artificial flavors or colors in our products,” he adds. Along with naturally infused honeys such as lavender, strawberry, and their most popular flavor, cinnamon creamed honey, which Renee compares to the inside of a cinnamon roll, the Kauffmans also have lines of bath and body products and “Speedy Salsa.”

“Our soaps are totally natural — the main ingredients only being coconut milk and aloe vera juice,” says Nick. “We add essential oils for scent and crushed minerals for color. I’m always comparing my products to others’ so we can be the best we can be.”

Where to Buy?

The Kauffmans sell their products on their website, Amazon, at farmers’ markets, craft shows, festivals, and in a few shops around Missouri including Southbank Gift Company, Busch’s Florist, and Lucky’s Market.

The couple also travels to Oklahoma three times a year and have even been asked to travel as far as Georgia and Arizona to sell their products.

Fun Fact

So where did the name Honeysuckle Acres come from?

“Our daughter thought of it,” says Nick. “We homeschool, so we put the question of the name of our company out to the homeschool loop and offered a free jar of honey to whoever came up with the best name because we kept switching it. We couldn’t find something we really liked in the beginning. Oddly enough, our daughter came up with the name we picked.”