Honey Business Generates Buzz In Dallas Area And Online

BLUE RIDGE, TX — What started as a high school hobby has grown into a mature business producing honey for some of Texas' most recognizable brands. A big part of the success Blake Shook has had with Desert Creek Honey, the company he started when he was 12-years-old, has been his growing relationship with Amazon. This partnership has helped ease some of the physical demands involved in producing honey.

Shook grew up in Blue Ridge, 20 minutes northeast of McKinney. After getting involved in the Collin County Hobby Beekeepers Association and ultimately taking the program over when he was 15, Shook amassed roughly 400 beehives. One of his first customers was Mike's Health Collection in McKinney. That portfolio eventually grew to Collin County Feed and Seed and Market Street Grocery Stores, helping his revenue balloon to $250,000 by his senior year, Shook said.

"I kept really little of that. Most of it was reinvested," Shook told Patch.

Today, Desert Creek employs 20 people and has Salt Grass Steakhouses and HEB as customers, among many others. The business was recently included in the launch of Amazon Storefronts, a store for customers to shop exclusively from U.S. small and medium-sized businesses selling on the site.

"I've been on Amazon for 10 years now. The first several years, I didn't put much effort into it. It's only been in the past 2-3 years that we've really begun to push our products," Shook said. It's truly been one of the biggest areas of growth for us."

Desert Creek also uses Amazon's Fulfillment program which allows him to ship his inventory to Amazon so it can store, pack, and ship its honey directly to customers.

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Photos via Desert Creek Honey