Happy Families - the bee sting therapy leader

Happy Families director Tim Bickerstaff found an answer for his own agonising knee pain - and from that experience grew a new category of dietary supplements - the Honeybalm bee sting therapy range.

Former sports broadcaster Tim damaged his right knee as a teenage athlete contesting the national hammer throw title, leading to two knee operations and a permanent weakness. Tim turned to bee sting therapy for relief.

"Ten years ago I was in so much pain, nothing helped. I tried an ancient remedy - bee stings. This involved me being stung by 1500 bees over a six-month period. It sounds painful, but it was nothing compared to my knee pain."

"Then I discovered bee sting products. VENZ honey bee venom is gathered according to a patented method which guarantees bees are not harmed. Firstly we added it to delicious and beneficial manuka honey so it's enjoyable to take. Honeybalm proved extremely popular. We later found many people were also giving it to their aging dog so we then developed Honeybalm For Pets with added Omega 3 and 6. Next we developed Honeybalm capsules and BV Relief personal care cream for people who don't like honey or find this a more convenient form."

Tim Bickerstaff

The Honeybalm Story Honeybalm, the manuka honey with extra bee sting was a runaway success as a natural supplement for joint health from the start.

In the seven years since we launched thousands of happy customers - and their pets - have enjoyed support for joint health with Happy Families Honeybalm with extra bee stings, Honeybalm bee sting capsules, and BV Relief bee sting skin cream.

Happy Families is a leader in honey and bee sting products for joint comfort, soothing of the body and support of the body's natural healing process.

And not just our bee sting range. We're equally proud of the other Happy Families natural supplements - Happy Familie's Ignite natural herbal tonic supports sexual health and is designed for baby boomers feeling over-taxed and stressed by modern life.

We've also added the famed antibacterial New Zealand wild honey, the Active Manuka range to complete our health range - Honeybalm Active Manuka Honey UMF 10+ and Honeybalm Active Manuka cream UMF 15+.

Honeybalm UMF10+ Active Manuka Honey is a delicious dark creamed honey which soothes the digestion; Honeybalm Active Manuka Cream UMF15+ (30% honey combined with herbals) is suitable for application on minor skin conditions.

Before Happy Families

Before starting the bee products company Happy Families Tim Bickerstaff pioneered talkback radio in New Zealand and worked in radio and TV in Australia and New Zealand as a sports broadcaster.

Jenny Wheeler spent a decade editing national newspapers and magazines including a role as founding editor of New Zealand House & Garden magazine.

She is the author of Successful Women, a book on women in management and in 1998 with Tim Bickerstaff published Heroes and Villains, a top-selling sports book.

Staff

Auckland