Some car manufacturers are best known for their creations on four wheels, but some take a dive into other products that might seem out of out of character for their companies.
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For instance, Volkswagen may be one of the world's leading auto manufacturers but they make more sausages than cars. VW's own recipe of currywurst sausage -- which is served at its cafeterias -- has its own part number and can be ordered by customers through VW dealerships in Europe.
Honda may have started making motorcycles before cars, but the Honda logo is also a common sight at smaller airports such as Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. The same guys who make the Civic also make a $5.4 million four-seater twin-jet plane appropriately called the HondaJet for those who can afford a level beyond first class.
Luxury car manufacturer Bentley is no stranger to this sort of specialty, either. The factory that produces cars like the Bentayga SUV and the Flying Spur sedan also makes something a bit sweeter.
Bentley Motors
Since 2019, Bentley has extended its excellence into beekeeping and the production of honey at its headquarters and factory in Crewe, England.
The aptly named "Bentley Bees" are bees that live at Bentley's Excellence Centre for Honey Production on the company's campus, which help pollinate and bring life to the flora around the site.
Since they started beekeeping four years ago, the luxury car brand has "employed" the services of over one million bees living in 17 hives, which help bring the company closer to its sustainability goals.
Bentley Motors
“Our colony of busy worker bees has proved more productive than ever at the Excellence Centre for Honey Production," Bentley Motors Manufacturing Board Member Andreas Lehe said. "This exciting initiative shows the far-reaching nature of Bentley’s Beyond100 strategy, as we focus on making the Pyms Lane facility even more environmentally-friendly. It also matches the company’s aim of becoming leaders in sustainable luxury mobility.”
Bentley makes two kinds of honey. The newest kind is Black Edition Label, which celebrates five years of the beekeeping program and contains honey from the two oldest hives installed in 2019. They also make "regular honey" collected from the remaining 15 hives installed at the facility. Both jars of honey carry labels made by the same in-house design team that designs cars.
Bentley Motors
Although eager enthusiasts may be keen to see how Bentley's honey stacks up against Golden Blossom or the kind in the bear-shaped jar, the VW-owned (VLKAF) -) luxury brand unfortunately said that its honey is not for sale.
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"The delicious honey is very exclusive and we do not sell it, instead it is gifted at corporate events, customer visits and charitable causes along with Colleague Reward and Recognition schemes and competitions," Bentley Motors Director of Production Planning Sebastian Benndorf said. "We find it is an exciting way to get people talking about the importance of ecology and the role pollinators play.”
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