Beesto / How a local Oregon honey brand set itself apart from opaque, mass-produced honey — with brand strategy, branding, and packaging that put its bee-first, sustainable story front and center.

A hand reaching for a bottle of beer with a light blue label, next to a small white plate holding a honeycomb block on a pink background.
A hand reaching for a bottle of beer with a light blue label, next to a small white plate holding a honeycomb block on a pink background.
  • A beekeeper in a white suit and veil inspecting a hive with many bees on the wooden frame.
  • A close-up of a honeybee on a honeycomb.
  • A honeycomb frame with honey dripping from a person's hand in an outdoor field with dry grass and white flowers.
  • A person wearing a white protective suit is handling a homemade smoke generator or device that emits white smoke or vapor outdoors. The device is a metal canister with a cone-shaped top and a wire cage around it, placed on a wooden surface. A gas canister is visible in the background.
  • Close-up of honey bees on a hive, with some bees working near honeycomb and others flying around.
  • A beekeeper wearing protective clothing inspecting a honeycomb frame with bees.
  • Close-up of a person's hand reaching towards a honey bee on a honeycomb frame, with water droplets on the hand.
Pink background with large black text saying 'Posteo'
A poster with a blue background titled "Beesto" featuring a drawing of a bee and a flower, placed on a wooden bench against a wooden wall.
White T-shirt hanging on a hanger with the text 'Bee Local, Stay Sweet' and a graphic of a honey dipper dripping honey.
Person holding two colorful boxes labeled Beesto, one pink and one yellow, with illustrations of flowers and a bee icon, against a background of wooden structures.
A stylized black outline of a flower, possibly a sunflower, set against a solid yellow background.
Three jars of beeswax lip balm on a honeycomb. One jar is upright with a green label that says 'Beesto' and 'Spring Blossoms.' Two jars are fallen on their sides, one with an orange label and the other with a white label.
A hand wearing a beige knit sleeve reaching to open a jar of Beesto caramel clover honey against a pink background, with a white plate holding caramel honeycomb, a spoon, and a plastic knife.
A spilled jar of honey labeled "Beasto" and a bag of beef jerky on a textured surface with honey liquid and honeycomb.
A jar of Beesto caramel clover honey with a white label on the lid indicating weight, set against a plain white background.

Project Information

Stage

Pre-Launch

Industry

Food & Beverage

Services

Brand Strategy
Branding
Packaging
Photography

Impact Points

Environmental Stewardship

  • As a B Corp, Odd Notion only partners with founders building products that benefit people and planet. We sort that commitment into three tiers:

    • Measured impact — brands with verified, certified outcomes, like a fellow B Corp.

    • Unmeasured impact — brands doing real good that haven't yet quantified it.

    • Do no harm — brands we're proud to build because of how they operate.

    Beesto sits in our unmeasured-impact tier. Its whole model is bee-first: ethical, sustainable beekeeping that protects local pollinators — and the wildflowers they sustain — while prioritizing hive health across its Oregon apiaries. The good is built into how Beesto harvests; it simply hasn't been formally measured yet.

Situation

Beesto, a honey brand with a mission, approached us to help them better communicate the incredible benefits of their local, raw, and sustainably sourced honey. The founder, Cristian Boanca, had a clear vision: to inspire and educate potential honey consumers about the medicinal properties and overall benefits of honey, while maintaining ethical beekeeping practices that respect and protect our vital pollinators.

Problem

Our job was to position Beesto as an ethical and hyper-local company, differentiating it from mass-produced honey brands that often lack transparency in their sourcing and processing methods. We needed to communicate the company's commitment to sustainable beekeeping practices while making the local Portland connection a key selling point. The challenge was to balance educational content about ethical honey production with an approachable brand voice that would resonate with conscious consumers who care about where their food comes from.

Solution

Our solution was to create a friendly, accessible, and playful honey brand that emphasizes both quality and ethical stewardship. The packaging we developed clearly communicates our bee-first approach, sustainable harvesting methods, and commitment to hive health, while maintaining an approachable tone that avoids overwhelming customers with technical terminology. Each label tells the story of our responsible beekeeping practices while highlighting the pure, natural qualities of our honey.

Credits

Strategy: Eleazar Ruiz
Creative Direction: Eleazar Ruiz
Graphic Design: Eleazar Ruiz
Photography: Tim Wright

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