French Family Business That Has Loved Bees for Nearly Half a Century: Meet Ballot-Flurin

French Family Business That Has Loved Bees for Nearly Half a Century: Meet Ballot-Flurin

With Love for Bees, You Go Further

If someone were to run a poll for the most useful animal, insect, or creature, we would vote for the bees. They are tireless workers producing our food, but if you look at how a beehive functions, you will find absolute perfection inside it. They take care of the nourishment of all parts of the colony, thermal insulation of the hive, and also its natural disinfection.

Bees are powerful healers and providers of a range of reliable naturopathic products with an interesting composition. They cover a wide range of support not just for winter ailments. The founder of Ballot-Flurin, Catherine Flurin, who has actively cared for bees since she was twenty, could tell you about it for days, and you definitely wouldn't get bored even after such a long time. Behind the company’s name, don’t look for anything complicated; it is simply the surname of Catherine and her partner Philippe.

A Big Reason to Love Ballot-Flurin Is Their Biodynamic Approach to Bees

Catherine was fascinated by bee life since she was a child. In 1976, at the age of 20, she went through classic beekeeping training but did not find in it the satisfying information that would align with her life approach. She simply encountered commercial beekeeping methods that often have nothing to do with animal welfare and natural respect for the environment. So, she found another approach to bee colonies and developed the GENTLE Beekeeping® method based on respect for bees and their natural biorhythm.

Ballot-Flurin hives are kept in ecologically pure locations and tended to in ways that minimize stress and develop their natural potential. Aggressive antibiotics are not used for their treatment, instead homeopathy and natural remedies are applied. The harvesting of hive products is carried out gently so as not to threaten their function, ensuring the colonies always have sufficient resources for life.

Product processing is done very gently to preserve their natural nutritional and caring properties. A small family company with a great impact on education in ecology and the biodynamic approach to bees has managed to engage not only its compatriots but has become popular outside the land of the Gallic Rooster. Besides classic naturopath favourites like propolis, bee pollen, honey, and royal jelly, Ballot-Flurin also offers bee cosmetics made consciously, considering the bees, respecting the natural biorhythms of plant growth and are produced entirely by hand.

The Unique Biodynamic Power of Propolis

Propolis is a natural antibacterial agent that also stands out with its interesting composition of antioxidant substances. The propolis from Ballot-Flurin is harvested using the Gentle Beekeeping® method. It has undergone many purity and quality tests. It comes from a protected area between France and Spain. The products undergo manual dynamisation. Dynamised propolis is exceptional due to its living structures and vibrational field, proven by sensitive crystallisation tests. It contains up to five times more antioxidants than rosemary extract and is rich in polyphenols. Premium propolis guarantees the user that the natural life of the bee colony was not disturbed, as only 300 g out of 1 kg of harvest is used for apitherapeutic purposes. Its original colour is dark reddish-brown, which may tend to brown.

Family Business with High Ecological Potential and Interesting Certifications

The parents of three children are both passionate beekeepers, and the story of the company began when they bought a small property at the foot of the Pyrenees, which they renovated and started beekeeping actively on two hectares of hillside. The Ballot-Flurin Apiculteurs farm was officially founded in 1982, and Philippe and Catherine were among the first to promote respectful, organic beekeeping, which is gentle, mild, and GMO-free. Production focuses on microregions and preserving the delicate natural forces of all products with emphasis on permaculture and biodynamics. Successes can also be measured by the fact that they boast several consumer-important certifications.

  • European organic certificate, which enables certification of organic products (from feed for animals to foods). In the case of multi-ingredient foods, the European organic label guarantees at least 95% organic agricultural products. All health products and food supplements are certified organic.
  • Cosmos and Cosmebio certifications for cosmetics and hygiene products, assuring that 95% of ingredients are of natural origin and at least 10% of them (95% of plant material) come from organic farming. These certifications ban ingredients derived from the petrochemical industry and GMO production. All Ballot-Flurin cosmetic products hold these certifications.
  • Other certifications the company holds include Demeter, Gentle Apiculture, Paléo, which guarantee 100% raw preparation and that the product is free from cereals, dairy products, artificial additives, and preservatives (honey, pollen, royal jelly are in raw form with all preserved nutritional benefits).
  • IBV - live bio index, a unique vibrational strength, verified by 4 bioenergetic analyses: sensitive crystallisation, Vincent bioelectronics, electrophotonics, and organoleptic analysis. This allows measuring the vitality of Ballot-Flurin products.