Royal Hawaiian Honey

Our Story

Beekeeper, Michael Krones. Photo credit: Franco Salmoiraghi.

"Royal Hawaiian Honeys are harvested by my father, Michael Krones, on our family apiary on the Big Island of Hawaii. My partner, Luis Zevallos, and I fill each and every jar by hand. We are proud to celebrate artisanal beekeeping through healthy, delicious and ethical products from the hive."

-Rebeca Krones, Royal Hawaiian Honey

Royal Hawaiian Honeys are harvested by a family apiary located on the south Kona side of the Big Island of Hawaii, in the town of Captain Cook. Farmer Michael Krones, Owner and Beekeeper, Hawaiian Queen Company Royal Hawaiian Honeys are produced by beekeeper Michael Krones. He learned the art of keeping bees in Costa Rica in the 1970s from a wise old man names Winston McGee, and has kept bees in Hawaii since 1996. His farm, the Hawaiian Queen Co., is located on the southwest side (Kona side) of the Big Island of Hawaii, in Captain Cook. This location is truly paradise for bees: It has the perfect combination of enough moisture and rain, abundant, year-round nectar sources, and mild temperatures.

Beekeeper Michael Krones Krones manages about 1,500 hives. He produces queen bees for export, as well as three beautiful varietals of raw and certified organic Hawaiian honeys. Honey is secondary to his queen bee production, and Krones historically sold the honey he harvested in bulk to honey packers. In 2005, Krones’ daughter, Rebeca Krones, and her partner, Luis Zevallos, decided to take over the honey producing side of the family business and founded their own company, Tropical Traders Specialty Foods, to develop a line of their family’s Hawaiian honeys that would be available to consumers at a retail level. Thus, the Royal Hawaiian Honey line was born. Krones is proud to be a family-run apiary, which is one of only a handful of certified organic apiaries in the entire United States. He has not experienced any Colony Collapse Disorder, and strongly believes this is because of his commitment to organic agriculture and best management practices for his hives.

Michael Krones’ daughter, Rebeca Krones, and her partner, Luis Zevallos, founded Tropical Traders in 2005. They saw a need in the U.S. marketplace for high-quality, raw, organic honeys which are produced domestically, and founded their company to support Rebeca’s father’s beekeeping efforts. Luis and Rebeca buy the honey raw from Michael Krones. They spend about four months a year on the farm in Hawaii personally packing honey during the three different honey harvesting periods on the island. The rest of the year they spend selling and distributing the Royal Hawaiian Honey brand. Thus, a great family business was born. They distribute beekeeper Michael Krones’ honeys out of Captain Cook, HI and Oakland, CA, where they also manage a small distribution warehouse and marketing office.