Building The Scottish Bee Company's Empire & Saving 27 Million Bees | Suzie Millar
- Jay Greenwood
- Jun 27
- 2 min read
From defending clients to defending bees, Suzie Millar's remarkable journey from lawyer to chiropractor to honey entrepreneur exemplifies how purpose can drive innovation and success. What started as a conversation about giving back to the environment blossomed into The Scottish Bee Company, a venture that has introduced over 27 million bees to Scotland while producing award-winning honey products.
Suzie reveals the stark reality behind the honey industry – 80% of UK honey is imported, often extracted daily and artificially matured in machines rather than naturally in hives. This process strips away beneficial enzymes found in authentic, hive-matured honey. The difference between mass-produced honey and the real thing is comparable to battery-farmed versus free-range organic chicken, and Suzie's commitment to transparency includes publishing pesticide and GMO testing results online.
Beyond honey production, Suzie and her husband Iain established the Repollinate charity to build wildflower spaces supporting natural pollinators. Their business model demonstrates how commercial success can coexist with environmental stewardship. The company has expanded beyond honey to vinegars and salad dressings made with bee-pollinated fruits, and they've pioneered an innovative approach to growth by acquiring complementary food brands to create the Natural Larder Collective – allowing multiple values-aligned brands to share resources and marketing efforts.
What truly sets The Scottish Bee Company apart is their unwavering commitment to values. Suzie acknowledges that prioritizing ethics over shortcuts meant slower growth: "We would have been much faster to get profitability if we'd used imported honey, but I just couldn't ever compromise on that internally." This principled approach extends to their workplace culture, where staff work flexible 28-hour weeks to accommodate family responsibilities. Explore how purpose-driven entrepreneurship can create positive impact while building successful businesses at thescottishbeecompany.co.uk.
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