Darlings Honey, M’sian’s brand that sells organic kelulu honey from the forest

“Darlings Honey was born from an unfortunate incident. Just before the pandemic hit, a family member was diagnosed with cancer,” recall Danielle and Lewin Pee.

“At the time we were debating treatment options and were keen to explore more natural alternatives. Several of our friends had recommended consuming stingless bee honey (or better known locally as Kelulut Honey).”

It’s easy to dismiss the recommendation as an old wives’ tale, but scientific studies have proven that Kelulut honey has several health benefits. For example, it has better antioxidant capacity and anti-inflammatory effects compared to other types of honey.

Danielle and Lewin believed these benefits could help cancer patients and were eager to try it.

But the problem was that most honey products on the market contain unnecessary added ingredients such as sugars. In fact, The Straits Times reported that Dr Zulkifli Mustafa, senior lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), found that 90% of honey products sold in Malaysia were fake.

This is a staggering number when you consider that many locals purchase honey from the store shelves for a healthier lifestyle.

After doing their research and realizing that not many people knew about it Kelulut Because of the benefits of honey, the sisters decided to launch a brand that puts the local pearl in the spotlight. This marked the beginning of their family business.

From the forests of Johor to the Klang Valley

Darlings Honey adopts the ‘Forest to Bottle’ concept, where each bottle contains only raw and pure harvests from their stingless bee farm in Kota Tinggi, Johor. “As such, it is organic and the bees are free to collect nectar from wildflowers and the multitude of fruits available in the forest,” they explained.

So don’t be surprised if you notice that no two bottles have the same color or taste. These factors depend greatly on the season and vary depending on the types of fruits and flowers from which the bees collect nectar.

It is also reported that wild honey is also cloudier and can crystallize easily, which does not always look so appealing. But where it lacks in aesthetics, it makes up for in health benefits.

The siblings work with local villagers who help care for the bees and harvest the honey from tree trunks. This partnership serves as their way to support the local economy while ensuring that the Kelulut honey is of premium quality.

Danielle and Lewin explained that they avoid commercial methods of obtaining honey. The brand does not transplant bees into man-made boxes for the sake of mass production. The pair shared that this allows them to get more nutritious and concentrated honey.

To assure customers that they become authentic Kelulut honey, every batch of products is tested by the Malaysia Genome Institute (MGI). This is because they have noticed that there are some sellers of Kelulut honeys that either do not have certification or only send their honey for testing when the business first opens.

“Some brands may produce one batch of pure honey just for testing, while subsequent batches are fake honey or contain added sugar,” the siblings shared.

Keep the supply small for sustainability

Another way customers can authenticate Darlings Honey products is by their inventory size. According to Danielle and Lewin, stingless beehives can only be harvested twice a year.

This also seems to be supported by Dr Zulkifli Mustafa, who told The Star that stingless bees can produce an average of 3kg of honey per colony per year. For context, it is on the lower end of the spectrum as some bee species can usually produce up to 27kg or more per colony.

That’s why Darlings Honey only harvests in small, exclusive batches to prevent overfishing. “If we want to increase our supply in the future, we will have to grow more beehives,” they say.

It takes about two months to harvest enough honey from a beehive for one 500ml bottle of Darlings Honey. As part of the Drink Series, customers can drink the honey neat or use it to marinate meat and salads.

There are three varieties of honey available:

• Obsidian Fresh (RM199), the brand’s fresh honey
• Alexandrite Time Aged (RM249), a darker colored honey aged at a very specific temperature to activate and maintain healthy enzymes
• Blue Diamond Barrel Aged (RM299), which is aged for up to one year in French oak barrels to activate even more enzymes

In addition, Darlings Honey offers a Satchel series where their Obsidian Fresh honey is packaged in small pouches. They are sold in boxes of 15 pieces (RM129) and 30 pieces (RM239). The convenient packaging is intended to allow customers to take them anywhere, so this would be an easy solution if you want to replace sugar.

There is also a Health series of stingless bee propolis essence serum that is sold in two bottled variants: 5ml for RM88 and 10ml for RM138.

To raise global awareness Kelulut Honey

Currently, all of their products can be purchased online through their website or at partner stores. This includes more than 30 pharmacies and shops in the Klang Valley.

Occasionally you can even come across them at flea markets, pop-up events or even food fairs and fairs. Customers in Singapore and Thailand can obtain Darlings Honey items from local distributors such as Ittha Boutique Cafe.

Outside of Asia, Danielle and Lewin said they plan to introduce the brand to European markets as well. “They are major honey consumers and do not have easy access to stingless bee honey, which is uncommon in Europe.”

But even closer to home, their goal is to create more awareness Kelulut Honey. The trend in superfoods has seriously increased in recent years with a rising demand for kombucha. That’s why they also want to introduce Malaysians to their own superfood.

Convincing consumers shouldn’t be too difficult, as honey has already made a name for itself for its health properties. However, becoming a global brand in such a competitive market won’t be that easy.

However, the sisters are optimistic about their prospects, especially since they both have experience in the business field. When these became reality, the sisters said, “Then we know we’ve made it.”

• Read more about Darlings Honey here.
• Read other articles we’ve written about Malaysian startups here.

Featured image credits: Darlings Honey