Know what it costs to open. Understand what it takes to earn.

Where the opening capital goes

The $240,000 allocation assumes 500 producing colonies, a mix of existing and acquired equipment, leased yards and modest extraction and bottling space. It includes $15,000 for working capital and contingency, which cannot cover the cumulative operating losses before the mature case. It is not a fully funded launch budget. The $75,000 low case is a smaller owner-led staged apiary; the $650,000 high case allows more acquired colonies, new transport and extraction equipment, processing work and deeper reserve. Those formats need their own sales, labor and cash paths. Inventory which colonies and equipment are already owned, price acquired stock by health and condition, and secure a dated funding plan before committing.

Hive bodies, supers, frames, pallets and replacement equipment

$90,000

Extracting, uncapping, filtering, settling and bottling equipment

$45,000

Truck, trailer and pallet-handling equipment

$40,000

Yard, food-handling room and storage adaptation

$18,000

Bees, queens and initial colony-loss reserve

$17,000

Packaging, labels and opening product inventory

$8,000

Permits, insurance, testing and professional setup

$7,000

Working capital and contingency

$15,000

Opening scope range: $75,000 – $650,000. Review the case methodology for the low and high scenarios.

Five-year operating forecast

The authored five-year path sells 9,500, 16,000, 21,840, 27,000 and 32,500 actual honey pounds at a $10 product-revenue allocation. Year three equals 105 sold pounds × 4 selling days × 52 weeks × $10. The allocation divides retained honey and separately sold beeswax revenue by sold honey pounds; wax revenue is included once, with wax cost in direct costs. Sold pounds per producing colony are not harvested yield. USDA's 48.0-pound 2025 national benchmark measures harvested production, and excludes colonies without a harvest; it does not prove saleable or sold pounds. Later growth requires more harvested output, higher sell-through, released opening inventory or a revised producing-colony plan supported by records. Operating result excludes depreciation, financing, income tax, major replacement capital beyond the allowance, inventory timing and distributions. Annual sales use 52 weeks; the monthly calculator uses 4.33 weeks, or 51.96 weeks over a year. The annual forecast has year-specific sales, direct costs, payroll and overhead. The calculator ramps volume while holding mature contribution and fixed costs; it is a separate operating sensitivity. Its first positive month is not cumulative payback or proof of funded cash runway. Replace the smoothed schedule with actual closure, production, sale and collection dates.

Annual USD. Annual revenue and EBITDA use the annual forecast. Break-even uses a separate monthly calculator sensitivity; it does not establish when the annual forecast covers its costs.

Check the scope and evidence

Format

500 producing colonies across several leased yards with a small extraction and bottling space

Revenue unit

One actual sold honey pound; honey and separately sold beeswax revenue are allocated once to this denominator

Planning schedule

105 sold honey pounds per average selling day over 4 selling days per week; harvest is seasonal

Year-three case

21,840 sold honey pounds and $218,400 annual product revenue at the authored $10 allocation

National context

USDA reports 48.0 pounds per producing colony and $3.05 per pound nationally for 2025