In celebration of Women’s History Month, Women in Retail Leadership Circle (WIRLC) is highlighting inspiring female entrepreneurs shaping the retail industry. In this installment, we chat with Aja Horsley, founder and CEO of Drizzle Honey, a woman-owned raw and superfood honey company prioritizing pollinator health and eco-friendly practices. We explore Aja’s journey, the challenges she’s faced, how she went from being an environmental scientist to an entrepreneur, Drizzle Honey’s sustainability practices, what it meant for the company to be acquired, and more.

Women in Retail Leadership Circle: What motivated you to launch Drizzle Honey?
Aja Horsley: I previously worked as an urban agriculture researcher, and I became involved in a rooftop beekeeping study. I noticed a huge gap in the market around sustainable beekeeping; raw, health-focused honey; and strong marketing that’s required to make people notice a brand. I wanted to bring local honey to market to help support beekeepers and allow them to compete against the adulterated honey that was flooding the market and creating harsh business conditions for them.

WIRLC: You have a background in environmental science. Did you also have entrepreneurial motivations prior to founding a company? What were the biggest learning curves?
AH: In my previous job, I used to help entrepreneurs gain funding to bring their innovations to market. I was fascinated with their tenacity and passion. Even as a small child I would try to sell my art from the front lawn, paint nails for the other girls around the community, and do landscaping for cash. I’ve always been motivated to find my own path and channel my creativity, so entrepreneurship was an obvious choice when I had my light bulb moment with honey. My biggest learning curve was without a doubt the amount of persistence and hard work it would take, especially in the early years. Entrepreneurship is romanticized in the media, but it is absolutely not for everyone. You need to be obsessed with your brand to make it succeed.

WIRLC: How did you know when it was the right time to pursue this full time?
AH: It was a pretty easy decision for me, as we had a lot of retailers reaching out to us even before the product had launched with our labels and branding completely finished. I knew when I could no longer focus on my full-time job that it was time to leave.

WIRLC: A big plot twist in your career was when you realized you were allergic to bees. How did that put a damper on your passion?
AH: It did, but only for about a week. I allowed myself to mope around for a few days but quickly put myself back together to realize I could tap into my large network of beekeepers and manufacturing facilities allowing Drizzle to continue with greater growth capacity. It was a blessing because it allowed me to focus on growing the business instead of beekeeping.

WIRLC: Can you share a bit about Drizzle’s sustainability practices?
AH: Drizzle is a Certified B Corp, so we meet the highest certifiable standards for social and environmental performance. Sustainability was in the foundation of the company when it was built, and we continually try to improve on all things, including where our packing is from to the diversity on our team to the health benefits in our products. On the beekeeping side, we selectively source honey from hives that have a wide floral variety (more nutrients for bees) and those that are in remote locations (away from pesticides and industrial monocrops). This allows for healthy bees and higher quality honey. We also donate to Pollinator Partnerships, a nonprofit dedicated exclusively to the protection and promotion of pollinators and their ecosystems.

WIRLC: As other retailers are rescinding their sustainability initiatives, how do you remain true to this value as a brand?
AH: It’s part of who we are and we can’t take it out of Drizzle. It’s been baked in from day one. We owe it to our partners, customers and stakeholders to remain true to who we are because that is why we’ve gotten to where we are: we spoke to the audience who cared about sustainability.

WIRLC: Your website notes that Drizzle “believes the word ‘sustainable’ is used too liberally in business, and if it’s not addressing people, planet and profit, it’s just not sustainable.” Can you elaborate?
AH: Sustainability has to encompass many aspects of the business, not just how “green” the business is. There can be elements of “greenwashing” (i.e., those claiming to be sustainable when they really aren’t) if consumers don’t carefully scrutinize all P’s of sustainability in a company. Those include people, planet and profit: social responsibility, environmental friendliness, and economic value.

WIRLC: Drizzle was recently acquired by Wisdom Natural Brands. What were the biggest lessons you learned going through an acquisition?
AH: I really loved the process of selling Drizzle as I got to work with a new team of accountants, brokers and lawyers. There was lots to learn, and I liked the challenge. You need to be prepared to  “open your diary” to the buyer, pull together years of data for them to analyze, and have carefully organized accounting records. In my experience, doing the groundwork leading up to the acquisition is really important. For example, making sure you have all company records and contracts properly accounted for ahead of time.

WIRLC: What advice would you give to the next generation of female leaders looking to embrace their entrepreneurial spirit?
AH: It’s not easy to be an entrepreneur! Nine in 10 startups fail, so you need to be willing to put in the hours, be flexible, have the ability to seed fund your business, and know that running the business will leach into your personal life. If, like me, you feel like you would burst if you can’t get your idea into the hands of others, then you might be ready!

WIRLC: What’s next for Drizzle Honey?
AH: With the acquisition under our belt, we’re eagerly planning our U.S. launch. We shipped our first pallets to our parent company last week and are preparing to list Drizzle with key distributors across the U.S. You’ll see us popping up in lots of stores, as well as planning new product launches. Long term, we want to continue to bring our delicious honey to households across North America, while keeping our core values around health and sustainability intact.