Fischer Honey

To the Fischer family, bees are much more than churners of honey.
Raymond Fischer, founder of Fischer Honey Co. Inc. of North Little Rock, was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis as a young boy. By the time he was 13, he was unable to get around without crutches. One day, a doctor recommended that Fischer get a hive of bees because bee stings can be therapeutic to arthritis patients.
“In 1970, when I got married, he danced at my wedding,” Fischer’s granddaughter Ann Fallon said. “That’s how the bee business really started, as a hobby for him to get better,” Fallon said. “After that, it just kind of grew.”
Fallon, who is now vice president of the family business, said that though the company was founded in 1935, it wasn’t until years later that the operation took off.
During the sugar rationing of World War II, Americans needed an alternative sweetener, and honey filled that void, Fallon said.
Fischer Honey employs 10 people at its 20,000-SF location on Poplar Street. On average, sales have grown 15 percent per year during the last five years.
Fallon said the biggest challenge the company faced was competing against larger companies. Fischer Honey has done so by keeping a sharp eye on quality.
“Every flower is different. But we’ve tried to stay constant. We’ve used the same producers in the same areas ever since we got out of the bee business,” she said.
Fischer Honey decided to leave the bee business mainly to get some rest.
“If you’re going to work the bees, you’re going to work at night because they’re calm in the evenings and at night,” Fallon said. “If you’re going to bottle honey, you can work in the day. And we decided that we were day people.”

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