Pitcairn Islanders, who number just 50, have seen their honey snapped up by exclusive food retailers Fortnum and Mason and Partridges in Sloane Square, famously known as “the Queen’s grocers”.
Both the Queen and the Prince of Wales have written to the islanders say how much they have enjoyed Pitcairn Honey.
Pitcairn’s fortunes have declined in recent years thanks to a slump in the sales of stamps, which Pitcairn residents traditionally relied upon for a large percentage of their income.
As a British Overseas Territory, the UK Government through the Department for International Development (DFID) offers financial support to Pitcairn.
The island is developing small, sustainable industries like honey production to supplements larger revenues from tourism from cruise ships.
Funding was agreed by DFID for a bee keeping expert who spent six months on the island, teaching the islanders how to grow queen bees and to progressively increase the number of hives to about 150, increasing the bee population and the pollen which enables them to feed.
The islanders revamped the Pitcairn Island Producers’ Co-Operative (PIPCO) to package, market and sell the honey. PIPCO now has the prestige of supplying two of the UK’s most renowned grocers where it sells at £9.95 a jar.
Source: Department of International Development
