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The Hive Box Subscription Review – July 2017

Ragan Buckley
ByRagan BuckleyJul 23, 2017 | 4 comments

The Hive Box July 2017

The Hive Box
4 overall rating
2 Ratings | 0 Reviews

The Hive Box is a bee-friendly subscription box that partners with small businesses and artisans that work with honeybees to make their products. Honeybees are threatened due to conditions like colony collapse disorder and The Hive Box is helping to combat that by partnering with people who support local bee populations.

The Hive Box July 2017

My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)

This review is of the Mini Hive Box, which is $15.95 a month.

The Hive Box July 2017

The Subscription Box: The Hive Box

The Cost: $24.95 for the regular-sized Hive Box. This is a review of the “Mini” Hive Box which is not currently offered (I have a legacy subscription; my price was $15.95). The items in the Mini box are representative of the types of items you’d receive in the standard box, you just get more of them and/or bigger sizes.

The Products: Food, bath and body items, beeswax candles, and other specialty gifts with a bee-friendly theme. And of course, lots of honey!

Ships to: U.S. for $6.95

Check out all of our The Hive Box reviews and the Food Subscription Box Directory for more great artisan food boxes!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

I didn’t get an information card this time.

The Hive Box July 2017

Mikolich Family Sage Blossom Honey (2 oz) – Value $3

Mikolich Family West Coast Wildflower Honey (2 oz) – Value $3

I have seen honey bears before but these small ones are just too cute. The Mikolich family apiary is in Southern California and they’ve been producing honey for nearly 40 years. The Hive Box does a wonderful job of finding small apiaries from all different parts of the countries. I’d never have discovered this shop on my own! I am not sure that I can really tell the difference between these two types of honey, but I’m hoping as I gain more experience, my palate will become more developed and someday the distinction will be clear.

The Hive Box July 2017

Portland Bee Balm (0.15 oz?) – Value $2.99

This has such a simple ingredients list – beeswax, organic coconut oil, organic olive oil, and peppermint essential oil. All the ingredients are sourced in California and/or the Pacific Northwest.This doesn’t have the same consistency as Chapstick, but I feel a little better knowing I’m not swallowing lots of petroleum byproducts, either, so it all works out! The minty flavor is nice, too.

The Hive Box July 2017

Big Dipper Wax Works 100% Pure Beeswax Bar (1.5 oz) – Value $3.50

This came with a little card explaining some of the uses. I was just thinking I needed to buy some oil to coat some of my steel jewelry making tools so I was excited to see that was a use for this product. Of course it’s too soon to tell if I will be avoiding rust, but I think I got a pretty good application and it’s nice to receive just the type of item you were looking for, right when you needed it!

The Hive Box July 2017

Bee Local Honey Sticks (10 pack, 1.8 oz) – Value $4

You’ll receive a lot of honey sticks with this subscription, but not too many to reasonably use (you don’t even get them every single month). I absolutely do not have the knack for opening these without scissors, though I’m told it’s possible. At any rate, I find these rather soothing in lukewarm tea in the afternoon (can’t have hot right now due to recent oral surgery) and they’re only about 20 calories each.

Verdict: I calculated a value of $16.49 for the July The Hive Box Mini. That is above the cost of the Mini box but somewhat below the cost of the box plus shipping. I do think you have to keep a couple of things in mind – for example, these products almost all come from very small producers, who would be charging you individual shipping charges if you were to purchase the items separately from their shops. Secondly, I rarely come across brands I already knew in this box, so it is still great in terms of new discoveries. Plus, there were five separate items this month and I think the curation is great; although the scope of the box is somewhat limited, I never get too much of the same thing. I feel like a lot of thought goes into this subscription. Plus, most months exceed the cost of the box plus shipping. Overall, this was still a good month for me.

What do you think of the July 2017 Hive Box Mini?  Do you have a non-food use for honey?

Starting at $24.95
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"Each month, Hive Box subscribers will receive a selection of natural bee-friendly products, like raw honey samples, beeswax and beauty products, bee-themed paper goods and decor."
Ragan Buckley
Ragan Buckley
Ragan stumbled across My Subscription Addiction in late 2013 and immediately subscribed to way too many beauty boxes. She's now focused on boxes for her cats and dog, vegan/vegetarian food boxes, and craft subscriptions (and she didn't give up beauty boxes entirely).

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4 comments

Alexis

Ragan, I always look forward to your reviews! I really like the appreciation you have for unique items & box curation. Thank you!

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Michelle

Did anyone else get a different box? I didn’t receive the sticks but I got a wax sandwich wrap and a bag of granola that looks delicious.

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Ragan

This is a review of the mini version, which is a legacy subscription I am grandfathered in to but which is not available for purchase any longer for new customers. So the contents may be slightly different from what others received.

It is also possible the contents of the minis vary slightly in the same month because not many people still have them, so they just give you what they have available.

I have upgraded my subscription to the regular one so you all can see in future months’ reviews what the regular-sized box looks like.

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AmySoup777

Thanks for your positive review, and explanation. I think most people don’t understand that a lot of our food sources would completely collapse without honey bees.

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