Champlain Valley Apiaries

Champlain Valley Apiaries is a Vermont honey business in Middlebury, founded in 1931 by Charles Mraz and now carried forward by the Mraz family’s fourth generation. The company’s own history names Charles Mraz as the founder, Bill Mraz as the second-generation operator, Chas Mraz as the third generation, and Curtis Mraz as the fourth-generation beekeeper who returned to Vermont in 2022.

This is an old-school honey operation, not a new brand built around a pretty jar. Champlain Valley Apiaries has produced honey for more than 90 years and remains tied to Vermont beekeeping, pollinator education, and local co-op distribution. Middlebury Food Co-op describes it as a Vermont family-owned business and notes that the company has supplied the co-op for decades. The Cook’s Cook history piece, written from inside the Mraz family, gives the deeper production story: hive boxes, uncapping, centrifugal extraction, barreling, and bottling with minimal heat or filtration.

Honey needs extra scrutiny. The category has real sourcing problems, and shoppers often assume every local-looking jar came from a local hive. Champlain is clearer than many: it sells raw honey and liquid honey, and the co-op profile says the company blends Vermont honey with premium honey from the U.S. and Canada for consistency. That does not disqualify it, but it does mean buyers should choose the specific product that matches what they want. If you want only Vermont-origin honey, read the jar before buying.

The independence case is solid. The company identifies the family succession on its own site, the co-op profile supports family ownership, and the family-history article traces the apiary through multiple generations. We found no corporate parent, acquisition notice, or private-equity signal.

Champlain Valley Apiaries earns a place here for transparent ownership, long operating history, and a product line rooted in beekeeping rather than sweetener marketing. Simple product. Real family. Clear caveat on sourcing.

Products

• Raw crystallized honey
• Liquid honey
• Honey gift boxes
• Beeswax and honey skincare products
• Gourmet provisions and honey-related pantry goods
• Beekeeping books and educational items

Why We List Them

• Fourth-generation Mraz family honey business founded in 1931
• Company, co-op, and family-history sources support independent family ownership
• Longstanding Vermont apiary with more than 90 years of operating history
• Clear product distinction between raw honey, liquid honey, and blended sourcing
• No corporate parent or acquisition record found