Back in the early 1900’s, our family kept a few beehives just outside the farmhouse in Kansas to have a sweet treat from time to time. The fascination of those fuzzy little creatures and their delicious produce soon grew from having just few colonies to hundreds, and eventually thousands. The family beekeeping heritage has been our staple ever since.
In the late 2000’s, nearly a century after we collected our first drop of honey, our first honey drink was crafted and a brand was born as an advocate for nature and health to innovate and promote delicious products sweetened only with honey. Starting in 2023, Nate, the youngest in the family of beekeepers, reshaped the business into what we now call as Zuma. Our products are enjoyed by thousands of fans throughout the Midwest and beyond. And we are only getting started.
Headquartered on the edge of the Missouri Ozarks in Bolivar, we are proudly still a family company after a century of beekeeping. We know what it means to make quality honey, that’s why we obsess over ever step along with way. From the honey gathering in the fields to every production run. We taste every batch to ensure that it meets a century worth of high standards.
Growing up on a honey farm, the father-son duo of Jerry and Nate Brown were no strangers to the meaning of farm fresh ingredients. Year after year they proudly cared for their bees and gathered delicious honey.
Around the year 2009, they were frustrated that nobody had done something truly special with honey. So, they set out on a journey to revolutionize how people use honey and learn a thing or two about nutrition along the way.
At the time, energy drinks were booming while the farm-to-table movement was just beginning to gain steam. The idea quickly came to combine those two ideas together and make a honey energy drink.
What Jerry and Nate discovered was a bigger void in the beverage aisle than they ever imagined. They noticed that every drink contained the same ingredients, only a different name on the outside. Some had high fructose corn syrup, others artificial sweeteners, some had both. But one thing was consistent: all of them were loaded with highly refined sweeteners. None of them were a so-called “healthy alternative”.
Using honey as a base, and through many trials and errors, Zuma now makes several distinct lines of beverages designed to be a natural, healthy alternative beverage.
Today, Jerry and Nate are still heavily involved in every aspect of the business. On any given day, you are likely to see them running around the headquarters, whether it be formulating a new flavor or taking a customers call.
