Repeat Hawaii winner honored for lasting impact on America’s food movement

New York, NY—Big Island Bees of Kona, Hawaii, is proud to announce its Organic Ohia Lehua honey was recently recognized once more with a Good Food Award (GFA)—this time as part of the exclusive 15 Years of Good Food Awards. The artisan honey joins a select group of 55 winners across 18 categories who have demonstrated enduring excellence in taste, craftsmanship and ethical production.

The 2025 15 Years of Good Food Awards marks the first-ever Community Choice edition of the prestigious awards with more than 8,000 votes cast by the good food-loving public. Finalists were 91 products from 86 companies. Winners were announced June 28 at the Good Food Mercantile in New York City.

“Good Food’s criteria is totally what we are trying to do at Big Island Bees,” states Whendi Grad, company “queen bee” and co-founder. “We are careful how we extract and pack the honey and people like our unique flavor profiles. It’s great to have an organization recognize what is pure honey and the effort we make to offer it.”

Since 2011, the GFAs have tapped 623 companies from 6,000 entries across all 50 states. These crafters offer products that exemplify social and environmental responsibility in tandem with craftsmanship and flavor. Panels of judges take part in blind tastings to score and select each year’s winners against exacting good food standards. 15 Years of Good Food Awards celebrates the lasting impact of these crafters on America’s food landscape while also commemorating GFA’s 15th anniversary.

“For 15 years, the Good Food Foundation has supported crafters who are making a positive impact on our country’s food system,” said Nora Weiser, the Foundation’s executive director. “It is exciting to see how their passion, commitment and delicious products continue to fuel the good food movement.” 

View the full list of 15 Years of Good Food Awards winners at https://goodfoodfdn.org/awards/winners/2025/.

Big Island Bees crafts its Organic Ohia Lehua honey from a flower endemic to Hawaii. The multi-generational family operation sells only honey its bees produce so the company is both responsible for the care of its bees and the methods by which honey is produced. 

“Every glass jar is filled with pure, raw, unfiltered Hawaiian honey that comes straight from our hives on the Big Island of Hawaii,” adds Philip Grad, co-founder. “All honey is crafted without the use of artificial feeds, chemical miticides, heat or filtration and we only use organic compounds to care for our bees.”

Find out how Big Island Bees produces its monofloral varieties of delicate Lehua, rich Macadamia and spicy Wielaiki honeys on a guided beekeeping tour. Visit the on-site museum and explore the amazing world of bees while browsing their store full of honey, beeswax products and beekeeping memorabilia. Marvel at the artistry of bees through standout beeswax sculptures made by fourth-generation head beekeeper and Whendi’s husband, Garnett Puett. 

To browse and order Big Island Bees’ line of honeys and gift items, or to book a tour, visit https://bigislandbees.com.

About Big Island Bees

Since 1972 this family operation has been producing 100% pure, monofloral honey on the Island of Hawaii. Their bees forage on the island’s unique and abundant blossoms producing bold and distinct flavor profiles that have earned accolades across all the islands, the U.S. mainland and Japan. To preserve those natural flavors, Big Island Bees never heats or filters honey — what you taste is exactly what the bees made. The beekeepers extract and pack the honey directly from the bees’ hives at the honey farm above scenic Kealakekua Bay. Visitors are welcome for guided weekday tours and to the on-site beekeeping museum and retail store offering a wide assortment of honey and honey-inspired products. Book a tour and shop an assortment of honeys, skin care products, specialty foods and art at https://bigislandbees.com.

About the Good Food Foundation

The Good Food Foundation (GFF) is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that champions the broad and diverse community of food crafters, grocers, chefs, food writers, activists and passionate food-lovers. Since 2011, initiatives like its Good Food Awards and Good Food Mercantiles have been celebrating food that is both delicious and responsibly produced. GFF promotes the values of craftsmanship, sustainability and social responsibility, connecting and elevating those committed to creating a better food system for all.