Harvesting un-bee-lievable loyalty
When you talk to the owners of Honeyville, the only thing as reliable as the sweet flavor of their 30-plus honey and honey-enhanced products is the quality and service of their label company.
That’s a key criterion for this third-generation beekeeping and honey bottling family business located in Durango, CO, currently owned by Danny Culhane, grandson of the company’s founder Vernon Culhane, along with his wife Sheree. Their son Kevin is poised to carry the honey mantel in the future.
Flavor meets fate
When Vernon Culhane removed some honeybees from a buzzing tree near his house to start his own hive on the family’s vast Durango homestead in the 1920s, he quickly found that those bees produced the best honey he had ever tasted. That discovery nearly 100 years ago laid the groundwork for a burgeoning family business that now includes a factory store, online store, retail sales, and a new distillery. All carrying honey and honey-enhanced offerings, from their flagship Cinnamon Whipped Honey, jams, butters, syrups, sauces, and mixes to a line of body care products.
The Honeyville product line continues to blossom under the creative leadership of Sheree who oversees flavor development. “We listen to what our customers want. They give us ideas and we develop recipes, then test them on customers,” explains Sheree. The latest release is Hot Honey made with serrano peppers infused with honey. “It’s not too spicy, though,” she notes.
Drawn to Columbine Label Company
Like a honeybee to flowers, Honeyville seemed drawn to Columbine Label for their custom-printed honey labels from the beginning. When the company merged its honey business with Honeyville Specialty nearly 20 years ago, it needed a one-source printer for its growing line of products.
“We met Columbine Label Company at a packaging expo,” recalls Sheree. “We liked the fact that they were a local family business like us. We’re both out there promoting the heart and soul of our business. That was intriguing to us. And they’re just good people.”
The Culhane’s continue to be impressed by the quality and service they receive from Columbine Label.
“We’ve never been dissatisfied with the quality of their labels,” Sheree states. “We always know the end product will be completed on time with professionalism and pride.” She adds, “It’s also nice to work with one business for every need we have. It makes it so easy…we don’t have anything to worry about.”
Service hits the sweet spot
“Honeyville not only creates amazing products, but they are wonderful to work with,” notes Columbine Label sales representative Jennifer Adams who services the account. “They have many products, each with a different label. We do our best to group label orders together for better pricing. With our digital press, we’ve been able to eliminate plate fees and ink color changes to print their labels more efficiently and cost-effectively. And because they update their label design every few years, it’s so easy to do with the digital print process.”
Honeyville also benefits from the print company’s vast experience in what looks and works best when it comes to custom-printed honey labels. “When we rebranded a few years ago, Jennifer provided us and our designer with suggestions on colors and designs. It really helped our labels stand out.”
The Honeyville logo prominently features the striking Columbine state flower, which is also the namesake of Columbine Label Company. Whether it’s serendipity or mere coincidence, it’s clearly a partnership that was meant to be.