Beehives are put in the backyards of homes in various city suburbs at no cost to the homeowner. Coulson harvests the honey during the summer months, with each hive able to produce 15kg or more. The homeowner gets 2.5kg of free honey from their backyard and the rest is sold by City Slicker Honey for $12 per 540gram jar.

Last year, City Slicker Honey won the finals and Best Social Media at the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme regional competition. At the Wellington nationals in December, they were in the top 20. “This year is definitely going to be a big year. We’re going to push really hard,” Coulson says. City Slicker has 55 hives around Palmy and a waiting list of 15 people for backyard beehives. It is expected the number of hives will increase to 80 in the summer.

Coulson’s interest in beekeeping began as a nine-year-old when he was given a beehive by Trevor Gillbanks, of Trev’s Bees in Palmerston North. Two years ago, he started selling honey. Mum and Dad have helped him set up the business.

You can buy City Slicker Honey from the Mad Butcher Palmerston North, Hunting & Fishing and online from Be Free Grocer and the company’s Facebook and Instagram pages.