Four friends are selling the royal jelly they produce with their spouses for 45,000 lira per kilogram.

24.06.2025 19:30

Four friends in Nilüfer, Bursa, who left their jobs at a car factory to start beekeeping, have significantly expanded their business with the help of their wives. Initially, the partners focused on honey production, but later they shifted their attention to royal jelly. The four friends sell the product, which can reach 45,000 Turkish lira per kilogram, all over Turkey.

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Mehmet Durgut and Metin Kaya, who received beekeeping training in 2013 while working at an automobile factory in Bursa, started beekeeping in 2014 with 15 hives.

THEY DECIDED TO PRODUCE ROYAL JELLY

Initially producing honey, the partners later decided to produce royal jelly, which is sold as a dietary supplement due to its healing properties, produced by nurse worker bees to feed larvae and the queen bee. The friends, who continued to work at their jobs for a while, resigned from the factory in 2020 and started beekeeping full-time. Later, Faruk Aydın and İdris Akbulut joined the friends who decided to increase royal jelly production.

THEIR WIVES ALSO GOT INVOLVED

To assist the four friends producing with 250 hives in the Nilüfer district, their wives also got involved. While the men manage the colony at the hives, the wives Fatma Durgut, Serpil Kaya, Selma Aydın, and Selver Akbulut handle tasks such as royal jelly extraction and larva cleaning.

THE PRICE REACHES 45 THOUSAND LIRA PER KILOGRAM

The partners aim to produce 50 kilograms of royal jelly by continuing to extract until the end of August, selling the product, which reaches 45 thousand lira per kilogram, across Turkey in small packages.

"WORKING IN NATURE AFTER 20 YEARS IN A FACTORY ENVIRONMENT WAS REFRESHING"

Mehmet Durgut, one of the partners, stated that while working in the automotive factory, they could not manage two jobs simultaneously and chose to focus on beekeeping.

Durgut, stating that they send royal jelly to all corners of Turkey, said, "We have 250 hives, but we do not collect royal jelly from all of them. In the first year after we left the factory, we obtained 80 kilograms of royal jelly. In the following years, it continued at 40-50 kilograms. This year, we expect our royal jelly production to be around 50 kilograms. We send royal jelly to every part of the country, including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Gaziantep, Erzurum, Bitlis, and Bingöl."

Durgut expressed that they enjoy working with bees, saying, "We worked in a factory environment for 20 years. The factory environment was suffocating for us. Working in nature here feels enjoyable. Now we are outdoors every day."

"WHEN WOMEN GOT INVOLVED, IT BECAME MORE PROFESSIONAL"

Metin Kaya, recalling that he worked in a factory environment for many years, noted that royal jelly production is labor-intensive. Emphasizing that it is a team effort, Kaya continued: "When we first started beekeeping, we produced honey. Later, after being successful in the first attempts of royal jelly extraction, we included women in the work. While we managed the colony outside, our wives started doing the inside jobs, and the work became more efficient. When women got involved, it became more professional. When we first started the job, we had the idea of getting women involved, but the ladies were not very warm to this idea. Success comes when you love what you do."

"WE FELL IN LOVE WITH BEES WHEN WE VISITED OUR HUSBANDS"

Selma Aydın explained that they first fed royal jelly to their own children and saw its benefits, saying, "We fell in love with bees when we visited our husbands. After that, we couldn't get away and got involved in this work."

Aydın stated that they work as a team and divide the tasks, saying: "The men work outside and bring us the royal jelly frames from the hives. We do the wax and larva cleaning inside. Then we extract the royal jelly. Royal jelly production is not a job that can be done without women. It feels good to be able to do something not just at home but also outside, to support the household economy, and to work as a team with our spouses.

Being with bees makes us feel good.

"FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN ARE REQUESTING THE MOST"

Aydın stated that the benefits of royal jelly have been confirmed by scientific research and that it is requested for various needs, saying, "Royal jelly is most requested by families with children. It is very beneficial for children's immune system, muscle, bone development, and mental development. Additionally, families who want to conceive and have children are requesting royal jelly a lot."