Today we’d like to introduce you to Robin Grossi.
Hi Robin, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Beach Bum Bees is a small, family-run honey business based in Monmouth County, NJ. Founded by Robin & Michael Grossi, our beekeeping journey began in 2016 with a backyard garden in Cranford and a curiosity about pollinators. One class turned into a passion, and soon our garden was thriving alongside our bees.
After a few years of trial, error, and learning, we now maintain 8–12 hives on our property in Wall Township. Since 2022, we’ve been proudly sharing our honey with the community and we’re excited to grow into soaps, candles, and beeswax goods in the future.
Our approach is simple: slow, steady, and organic. Every jar of honey reflects our love for the bees, the land, and the sea breeze of the Jersey Shore.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No small business has a smooth road. In fact, in the beginning, we weren’t thinking about starting a business, we just wanted bees to pollinate our garden. However, once we added a few hives, they produced more honey than we knew what to do with. We offered it for sale and now the demand has outstripped supply & we sell out every year.
The struggles of bee keeping are that bees are living creatures, they need care and nurturing. We learned to water them and keep them out of our neighbors’ pools. Sometimes we still struggle with wintering them over and keeping all hives alive. Bees can also get mites and mice like to visit. Other times beekeepers don’t care for their bees and they come and rob our hives. Then sometimes they swarm and fly away. We invest a fair amount of time in their care. We find each season we learn more and we appreciate what the bees give us.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
We became interested in bees because we are interested in food. Both of us trained at the Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park New York. As professional chefs we care very deeply about the foods we eat and where they come from. Robin grew up with a large organic garden and a deep love of fresh seasonal produce. Micheal’s family is a large and loving Italian family where meals and food are celebrated. Bee keeping even ran in the family with Micheal’s maternal grandfather keeping bees of his own!
In trying to improve our gardens we took a class at Rutgers University Extension program where we learned the basics and found the bees to be a compliment to our overall lifestyle of eating simply and well as close to the supply as possible.
We are most proud of the quality of our honey. We harvest in spring and fall and the changes in flavor and color are amazing. We keep our bees healthy and safe and we are keeping our batches small.
Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
If anyone is interested in bee keeping in New Jersey take the Rutgers Extension Program we learned so much from them. The New Jersey Bee Keepers Association is another great resource. There are a number of good free resources on Youtube.
We encourage everyone to register with their State of Apiarist to keep diseases from spreading.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.beachbumbees.com
- Instagram: @beachbumbees
