Sweet Grown Alabama Blogs

It all started with one beehive in a backyard in Birmingham, Alabama.

In 2012, Adam Hickman wasn’t thinking about starting a company, he was just captivated by the bees. That one hive sparked a curiosity, then a passion, then (eventually) a company that now serves beekeepers all over the country. But Foxhound Bee Company didn’t grow with flashy investors or fancy pitches. It began with a $200 side hustle, numerous mistakes and an even greater passion for teaching.

While we sell great beekeeping supplies, what we really do is teach. We answer emails, coach beginners and help our customers figure out whether what they’re seeing is a queen cell or just a wonky bit of wax. We remember what it was like to be brand-new, with the excitement, the confusion and the setbacks too (like that one time Adam left the honey room door open and 100,000 bees tried to reclaim their share…).

We’re not just selling beekeeping supplies, we’re still out there keeping bees ourselves.

We’ve got hives right here at our Birmingham store, and they’re part of our life. We use them to harvest honey, teach hands-on classes and raise Alabama queens so our customers can pick them up when they need one (without the stress of shipping them and hoping for the best).

We really enjoy opening the hives with new beekeepers or potential beekeepers. There’s nothing like opening up a hive with someone for the first time and watching them spot the queen or pull their first frame of brood or honey. It’s messy, exciting, a little intimidating and we’re right there with you for all of it.

Keeping bees at the shop reminds us why we started in the first place. We’re still learning, still making mistakes and still just as amazed by what bees can do. Through it all, we’ve built Foxhound Bee Company around education, quality and community.

We’ve always been rooted in Alabama, and now we’re excited to share we're expanding that footprint.

This fall, we’re expanding into a brand-new beekeeping store and education space designed from the ground up to serve our growing community. In January 2025, we purchased a series of warehouses and land in Irondale. Located at 500 16th St. N, Irondale, AL 35210. Our new facility will feature an indoor classroom, an outdoor education space and a retail shop that makes learning about pollinators as accessible and enjoyable as possible.

Until then, we remain open at our current shop, located at 424 9th St. N in Birmingham, where we continue to assist customers in person and online, as we always have.

We can’t wait to welcome you into the new space and continue growing this community together. Stay tuned- we have a lot to share in the coming months.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Sweet Grown Alabama.