Brandon Frost has been local to the Oxford area for nearly his entire life. Though he probably never imagined it as a kid, Frost has now made a career as a small business owner in town keeping bees.
Frost grew up in Camden, Ohio, a little under 20 minutes away from Oxford. When he was preparing to go to college, he was almost certain he wanted to play baseball. He’d signed to play baseball at another college, but there was something missing: It wasn’t home. So, he decided to attend Miami and stick close to his roots.
“Oxford is a great community, so it’s kind of hard to leave,” Frost said.
He started studying biology at Miami University in 2015. But, it was when Frost took his introduction to environmental biology class that he first discovered his love for beekeeping. His professor talked about his own beekeeping, which he had been doing for over 40 years. The thought struck Frost: “What if I did that?”
His beekeeping started with a package at the post office.
“I say it’s weird, because the first bees I got were through the mail,” Frost said. “The post office called and said, ‘Hey, you have bees here. Come get them,’ because, you know, they don’t want to keep thousands of bees at the post office.”
The bees he shipped in 2016 were his first. There was a queen and nearly three pounds of bees. Now, he has nearly 50 colonies, or stacks, of bees at three locations in the area.
Since Frost started beekeeping in 2016, he quickly found he had huge amounts of honey. With dozens of colonies, only so much of their product he could give to friends and family. As such, the idea was born to start up a business to sell his honey. He had already been experimenting with making creamed honey, so he had a few products to offer.
“I have all this honey and all these things, then I just thought I would love to share it with other people,” Frost said.
Brandon’s Bees now sells a variety of products, including honey, candles and honeycomb globally and at local festivals, such as the Oxford Bee Festival. Brandon’s Bees honey is $15 and creamed honey is $18 and can be purchased at events they attend or online.
His family was supportive. Sure, he said, there were questions: Do you ever get stung? Does it help with allergies? Can I have some of the honey? Frost’s family and friends were always willing to pitch in and help though.
“Technically, it’s a one-man crew, but I get help from family and friends,” Frost said. “They’re really helpful during busy times.”
One of his biggest helpers is Frost’s girlfriend Natalie Weneck, who he said is his right-hand woman in business. Frost said they bounce ideas off one another, and Weneck works closely to make sure Brandon’s Bees, Frost’s business he started in 2024, is successful.
Weneck has helped more on the management side of the business since they got together in 2021. She helps with marketing, design and education when they attend events. Weneck said she never imagined she would get involved but has found herself loving the opportunity to dive into the world of keeping bees.
“I used to be terrified of bees—or any insect for that matter,” Weneck said. “I’ve grown to love the bees though.”
Weneck said she and Frost feel education is one of their top priorities. At events and festivals, they provide educational information on beekeeping, honeymaking and more.
“A huge part of our beekeeping is helping provide that information,” Weneck said. “It really is a dying trade unless we educate.”
Frost makes an effort to provide others the opportunity to get into beekeeping themselves. His YouTube channel, an idea he came up with after remembering the lack of resources when he started, teaches how to bottle and collect honey, help maintain hives, make queen bees and more.
“I figured the more informed somebody is throughout the whole process, it’s easier to keep the bees,” Frost said. “And it’s definitely not easy.”
