When Joshua Janway’s grandfather introduced him to the world of beekeeping, he initially saw it as a hobby. It was more than a decade later, however, when he realized beekeeping could be more than that—and could fulfill his goal of owning his own business.
Then working in the pipelining industry, Joshua realized his career goals didn’t match his occupation. He wanted to spend time building something for himself and his family. “If I was going to work that hard, I might as well work for myself,” he says.
Janway’s Raw Honey soon emerged when Joshua partnered with his father, Neal, who promised to help maintain hives while Joshua continued working full time. The family managed this routine until roughly three years ago when Joshua decided to dedicate all his time to their Baton Rouge bees.
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They began with roughly 250 hives, but have doubled every year since Joshua dedicated himself to the family business full time. In the past three years alone, they increased to approximately 800 hives. And now, their honey is sold in stores across the city and surrounding areas at more than 30 locations.
As Janway’s Raw Honey continues to expand, the hyper-local quality of the honey is still at the business’ core. On any bottle or jar they package, the words “from hive to home” are displayed right above the family name, highlighting the fact that each container is filled on site in Baton Rouge.
“We handle everything,” Joshua says. “We take pride in making sure everything looks good. We’re not skipping any steps.”
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The honey, raw and unprocessed, means customers are getting what the bees are producing—without processed sugar or other additives. Janway’s fans, Joshua says, typically like that they can see exactly where the honey is produced. The local community is what enables them to continue growing, he says.
“They see we’re coming from Baton Rouge and not a huge packer,” Joshua says. “They see that it’s from Baton Rouge—not from the Shreveport area or Monroe or wherever it’s at. It’s a good product that’s not thrown or packaged together.”
Find Janway’s Raw Honey at local grocers like Hi Nabor, Southside Produce, Bet-R, Fresh Market and Alexander’s Highland Market. Find out more about the business on its Facebook page.