If the connected scales are not new in the field of beekeeping management, that of Bee2Beep is coupled with management software that allows the beekeeper to improve the performance of his colony by analyzing the consequences of his interventions. It originated from the baccalaureate project, in 2015, of Jérôme Clerjeau, then a student in the final year of science and technology of industry and sustainable development (STI2D).
“It was about building a connected scale for the high school beekeeper,” he recalls.
The weight of the hive indicates its production and consumption of honey, it is an indicator of its health.
For two years, Jérôme Clerjeau continued his work on the scale and its software, relying on the advice of several beekeepers, to move from a high school project to a marketable product. But he does not manage to finalize it, for lack of means.
It was then that Frédéric Timbert, a weighing specialist, took me under his wing, explains the entrepreneur. He helped me move to the industrial stage.
Three years later, thanks to a crowdfunding campaign, the start-up based in Niort (Deux-Sèvres) sells its first scales to beekeepers, as well as to companies unrelated to bees, but who wish to an ecological gesture.
In this case, a bee breeder installs a hive equipped with the scale in the company and presents animations there, specifies Jérôme Clerjeau. Once the harvest is complete, he provides personalized honey jars.
Next step, propose a new cheaper offer “a maximum of 200 euros excluding taxes” intended for enthusiasts and children to finalize it, for lack of means.
NEW FACTORY – Gautier VIROL