Inspiring Conversations with Jay Jermo of Hey Honey

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Jermo. 

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I bounced between Hollywood and Chicago for the first half of my life after college. While I grew up in Michigan, like a lot of young people, I felt I needed to spread my wings and experience the big cities. It took a long time to figure out the simple truth that I just did not enjoy living in those places. So, when the 2008 crash hit, I lost everything – job, condo, savings, and investment property – along with my desire to live in Chicago. It took me nearly a year to find a new job, but an old high school friend recruited me into a bank back in the Detroit area. After about a year, I took a week-long vacation and traveled the state to see some people from my youth. My first stop was my cousin Ned’s place. 

Ned was a smaller commercial beekeeper, and he and his wife sold some of their honey at a local farmer’s market. They had been experimenting with steeped flavors for a little while and had 2 or 3 that people seemed to enjoy. We sat down for a glass of tea, and he asked me if I would be interested in learning a new trade and growing honey to sell further South, in my neck of the woods. Now, I am not certain what happened inside my head but in an instant, I saw the potential and jumped at the opportunity. Truth is, I always wanted my own business but up until this moment, had no idea what product of service to offer. I suppose I liked the idea of growing my own crop that was scalable, always in demand, and customizable. We went back and forth for a few weeks and came up with a plan of action. Ned taught me the basics of beekeeping, and I learned as I went. Then, I starting pitching farmers’ markets to be a new honey vendor. I started out with just one but got such a positive response to the flavors I decided to start introducing new ones. Customers started mentioning how they would use each flavor, and that’s when the lights went on! 

I have always worked in marketing and sales and know that the best way to offer a commodity product is to introduce new options for its usage. Coconut honey was introduced for grilled shrimp, hot pepper honey for pizza, plum honey for pork tenderloin. Three flavors would eventually grow to 70 (depending on each year’s harvest). 

The demand grew, and I started working multiple farmer’s markets. One year later, I lost my job at the bank. Initially, I was despondent until later that day when another friend and market vendor said to me “Don’t sweat it man. Just work a few more markets and you will have a full work week (and you will be making more money than at your 9 to 5)”. That afternoon was my ‘Ah-Ha’ moment. He was right. My weekend markets grew to 6 days a week. I began my own bottling production at the Flint Farmer’s Market to create custom honey’s on-demand. 

Sadly, Ned passed away suddenly, and his widow and I had a parting of ways. It became necessary to grow and buy more hives and form new partnerships. Aside from the hives I was able to manage, I realized I could lease more hives from larger beekeepers and select different flower types to place them in and thereby produce and offer unique honey types not commonly available in the Midwest. I started buying plane tickets and flying around the world to set up lease agreements in order to offer a superior honey varietals. It took a crazy amount of phone calls and site visits, but we eventually set up hives in Hawaii, Turkey, and Italy. Turkey was especially fun as we are able to produce a very clean sunflower honey that we steeped with a special group of spices to make a one-of-a-kind Limoncello honey to be used with cream-based desserts like cheesecake and crème’ Brule. 

I went online in 2018 and the growth has been steady, but I still have a long way to go. Currently, I have no plan to wholesale into stores. Far more revenue is captured with direct purchases and quite honestly, I created Hey Honey with the intent of it being a higher-end experience and brand. So, for now, I am working hard to be Michigan’s favorite farmer’s market honey guy. I’m looking forward to seeing where there next 5 years takes me! 

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?
It is not always smooth. My cousin’s death was a real wake-up call to tell me to step up my efforts. Creating leases on more hives helped me expand an, at the time, dwindling honey flow. Also, there were competitors who have fought to remove me from markets – although those instances can be chalked up to personality differences. By and large, I don’t think business is inherently difficult, once you understand the space you are operating in. I think I am a pretty likeable person. I make jokes at my booth constantly, and I LOVE making people laugh. One of my signature comments is “I don’t have to be serious when I’m workin’. It’s not like I’m sellin’ insurance”. What I have found from this is that people buy from who they like. 

Beekeeping has its own challenges – like any agricultural product. We deal with mites, drought, occasional lack of nectar flow. Further, the supply chain issues from last year impacted my ability to buy jars, packaging, harvest supplies, labels, you name it. Inflation is not great either. Luckily, I have built a deep product offering which has allowed me to spread out costs over multiple products without having massive, universal cost increases. 

We’ve been impressed with Hey Honey, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I grow and distribute Michigan raw honey, a wide range of specialty flavored honey to be used with food pairing, unique single pollen source honey that I grow in locations all over the world. I am best known as ‘The Flavored Honey Guy” and my customers come to me find a honey that pairs with a unique dish. 

What sets me apart – variety (and personality). I have something for literally ANY honey buyer – from the purest, who just wants regular, raw, clover & wildflower Michigan Honey to the person hosting a salmon fish fry and needs the perfect glaze (Lemon & Ginger). 

I always tell people that ‘I decide who my customers are”. I make jokes and like to see them laugh. No, this does not work for everyone. However, it does not have to. The people who enjoy their time with me are my best and most loyal customers. And I want to enjoy the interaction with them as much as they do with me. The money is just a byproduct. 

All of my offerings have a different story so picking a favorite, to me, would be like picking a favorite child – I can’t do it. However, I do have a soft spot for some of the flavors that some people said would never work – like plum (for pork) or Pesca e’ Mandorla (Peach & Amaretto) (for ice cream). I get a real charge out of proving nay Sayers wrong. 

I want people to know that laughter and food go hand in hand and trying new experiences (honey) is part of that. I produce a blog and a podcast (Critique-Opolis) dedicated to just that. Travel, food, and adventures are the best ways to maintain a healthy mind and body. I travel throughout the Midwest to promote and sell Hey Honey’s offerings – but with every city, show or event I go to, the message is the same – “Lighten up and have fun with me.” 

From May till Christmas, you can find me at these Farmers Markets – Flint (Tuesday), Ann Arbor Kerrytown (Wednesday & Saturday), Sterling Heights (Thursday), Dearborn (Friday), and Eastern Market (Sunday) & Howell (Sundays, May and October). If you can’t make it out there, all of our honey’s are available at www.heyhoney.biz. 

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Growing up in Elk Rapids, Michigan. This was a harbor town just north of Traverse City. My father took me to the movies at a single-screen theater there all the time (it’s still there to this day). It was here that I developed an interest in the movies and learned that while larger companies and studios distribute these movies, it was independent businessmen (producers) that created and ultimately sold the ideas that were turned into the films we know and love. 

My Dad was a pharmaceutical rep and did well for himself and then started his own company selling third-party medical equipment. In the afternoon, we would often play kickball in the front yard, and he talked about work and life in general. He said to me “People who have their own business have the ability to write their own ticket and they never have to worry about being fired.” I did not appreciate it at the time, but in time, I would grow to understand how right he was. 

Elk Rapids was a sleepy community, and it was the place that made me appreciate nature and the natural beauty of this state. It would take many years to blend my father’s lessons with a business that I could do on my own, but it would not have happened without that memory. 

Pricing:

• Prices range from $6.00 to $30 based on the item
• All pricing is listed on heyhoney.biz

Contact Info:

• Website: www.heyhoney.biz
• Instagram: @jayheyhoney
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeyHoneyMI/