NASA Scientist-Turned-Beekeeper Turns Wyoming Hobby Into “Honey With Benefits”

A longtime NASA research scientist, Susan Frost loves learning.

When she retired and had so much extra time on her hands, she chose a hobby that has her frequently discovering new information. For the past six years, Frost and her husband Alan have been beekeepers.

“Every year, you’re learning new things,” she said. “It’s been really good for me to have such an engaging hobby and to start a business after retiring from NASA.”

After moving to Lander just over three years ago, the couple began selling raw honey at the Lander Valley Farmer’s Market. Then last year Frost began looking at ways to expand her offerings, and eventually created what she calls “honey with benefits” through her business Queens of Goodness.

From The Research Lab To The Beehive

Frost earned her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Wyoming in 2008 and worked for NASA for 14 years at the NASA Ames Research Center in California.

She focused on developing control systems for flexible structures like aircraft and wind turbines.

She designed flight controls for innovative aircraft aimed at reducing aviation’s environmental footprint. She also developed control theory implemented to improve wind turbine efficiency and extend blade lifespan.

“The wind causes fatigue loads on the blades that we mitigate with advanced control methods,” she said. “The technology I developed was patented and NASA has licensed it to a third-party company.”

After her career at NASA, she wanted something else challenging to fill her time. During a Christmas trip she signed up for an activity that walked participants through how to take care of a beehive and she decided she wanted to try being a beekeeper herself.

“Bees are really interesting,” she said. “They’re social insects, and you get to really observe them up close being a beekeeper.”

She and her husband had a mentor in Fort Collins, Colorado, who helped them get started. She also read several books and watched a lot of YouTube videos. The Frosts started with one hive and added two additional hives the second year. Currently they have five.

During their second year in Lander, Frost looked to expand her business. She made granola and honey pops last year but didn’t make much of a profit. Frost knew of Golden Milk, which is basically milk and honey with turmeric, ginger, cinnamon and black pepper, and learned to make it herself.

“It's a drink that's been around for centuries and in India, they use it as a medicinal beverage,” she said. “Scientists have found that turmeric is anti-inflammatory and has a lot of beneficial health properties, and ginger is good for your digestion.”

Frost also began making creamed honey with honey sourced from Fremont County producers, as her hives didn’t produce the amount she needed. Creamed honey is a weeklong process to make. Also known as whipped or spun honey, it has a smooth, spreadable consistency and lighter color than liquid honey of the same floral type.

Expanding The Business

Frost talked to Mike Hoyt, director of the Bootstrap Collaborative last January about growing her business. The collaborative offers advice and other resources for small businesses. Hoyt told her about the Fremont County Start-up Challenge sponsored by Impact 307. She signed up and eventually pitched her product to a group of judges.

Frost was one of three winners and used the money to purchase creaming equipment and other things she needed to make creamed honey. The extractor, creamer and bottler have streamlined the process significantly.

“The creamer churns the honey and seed crystal for 15 minutes every hour for 48 hours. Before getting the equipment we were doing this process by hand over two days. Then the creamed honey has to set for five days at a precise temperature. The result is a super creamy honey that is much easier to spread and the spices and fruit stay evenly distributed.”

Frost also participated in a 12-week class through Oregon State University called Get Your Recipe to Market. The Northwest and Rocky Mountain Regional Food Business Center paid for her to attend the program. The class met three hours once a week and gave participants information on how to take their idea and make it a commercial-ready food product.

“I love learning,” she said. “And it would have been too much work to try and get the information they were giving us through the internet. I got a ton of feedback from them and advice on what I was doing, and it helped me with the business part of it.”

Currently Queens of Goodness offers six flavors of creamed honey that include fair-trade spices and nutrient-rich whole fruits. She said the honey is loaded with antioxidants and provides other health benefits. Blends include turmeric and ginger (also features cinnamon and pepper), pumpkin spice, ginger, lemon, blueberry and elderberry. All the ingredients of Queens of Goodness’ line are ethically sourced.

“I want to be proud of what I'm doing,” she said. “So I’ve put a lot into it.”

At the Farmer’s Market, Frost offers samples of the Golden Milk, and said people's reactions have been positive. She lets people try the creamed honey as well, with elderberry being a popular option.

“Elderberries are known to be good for your immune system,” she said.

Her honey can be added to hot drinks or smoothies, spread on toast or waffles, used to sweeten oatmeal or yogurt, paired with cheese or apple dips, used in marinades or cooking, or just eaten directly off a spoon.

She’s working on creating new flavors and said so far, she’s not tired of eating so much honey during recipe testing.

“Our kitchen counters are covered with different jars of honey because we like to buy honey from different regions of the country to try,” she said. “And I've gotten some from other countries like Turkey and Australia. There's always a different one to try.”

Educating Others

As much as she loves learning about bees and also making her products, Frost is equally passionate about sharing that information with others. She and her husband have done outreach in Fremont County with various local groups, and keep an active hive at Lander’s Academy of the Winds, a private Montessori school.

“We teach the kids about bees and beekeeping,” she said. “We've been doing that for two years now, and we just love it. And then I just put on a big event for National Honey Bee Day at the farmer’s market. We had live bees, an observation hive and kids’ activities.”

The Frosts also teach a community “Intro to Beekeeping” class through Central Wyoming College. In the class they discuss bee biology and roles within a hive. They then go over what it takes to be a beekeeper, including the honey extraction process. The class ends with honey tasting.

“Depending on where the bees are foraging and the flowers they’re foraging from, it changes the color and the flavor,” she said. “Then we have a little honey tasting at the end where I bring in half a dozen different types of honey for people to sample. And it's so interesting to see what people like.”

They’ve taught a class on how to succeed at beekeeping as well, discussing proper equipment, how to properly winter bees and mite control.

“I want to do more outreach,” she said. “And I have ideas for more projects, but it’s kind of busy right now with the honey business.”

Frost is in the process of building a commercial kitchen inside an enclosed cargo trailer that when finished will be used for making her products and will also allow her to sell them out of state.

Her honey is available at the Lander Valley Farmer’s Market, Meadowlark Market in Lander, the Fremont Local Market in Riverton and through Eat Wyoming.