Josh Zeldner (Mktg, RelEst’09)
Growing up, Josh Zeldner (Mktg, RelEst’09) didn’t envision working for his parents’ honey company, . But in 2010, dissatisfied with the jobs he had held in real estate and financial planning, Zeldner learned his parents were thinking of selling the business, so he decided to move home to Davis, California.
“They were tired, and [the business] wasn’t profitable,” he remembered. “It really broke my heart to see how much they put into it and how little they would get out of it. That was what made me realize the most fulfilling thing I could do for myself would be to move back to Davis and start to learn the family business.”
Family beginnings
Zeldner’s father, Ishai, fell in love with beekeeping while working on Kibbutz Beit Hashita in Israel. Upon his return to the United States, Ishai started studying bees at the University of California, Davis. He founded Z Specialty Food (then called Moon Shine Trading Company) in 1979 to share one of his favorite local honey varietals, California Yellow Star Thistle. Despite Ishai’s passion for honey, Zeldner never felt pressured to work for the family business.
“That was, I think, essential,” he said. “I probably would not have [taken over] if I felt a lot of pressure to do it.”
When Zeldner moved back home in 2010, only his parents and one other employee worked for Z Specialty Food. He quickly gave himself the title “nectar director.”
“I had seen how hard my parents were working,” he said. “I inherently work that hard also, but I wanted to make sure that I'm always keeping joy in my life. Choosing the title of nectar director was just one of those things.”
“I wanted to make sure that I'm always keeping joy in my life. Choosing the title of nectar director was just one of those things.”
Josh Zeldner (Mktg, RelEst’09)
Z Specialty Food had one 4,000-square-foot warehouse and focused on business-to-business honey sales. But Zeldner had an idea to reach consumers directly: a warehouse sale open to the public. About 50 customers attended, and the warehouse sale became an annual event, now known as the Anniversary Party @ The HIVE. More than 1,000 people attended the 2024 anniversary party.
“When I think back on it, I think, 'Wow! I joined the business in September, and by December already had this new concept going,’” Zeldner said.
In 2012, Zeldner’s mother, Amina, decided to concentrate on her work as founding director of UC Davis’s Honey & Pollination Center, meaning Zeldner and his father took on more work at Z Specialty Food. When his father passed away in 2018, Zeldner took over as the company’s head.
Zeldner oversaw the opening of Z Specialty Food’s 20,000-square-foot honey and mead tasting room, The HIVE at Woodland—the largest of its kind in California. The HIVE is also a full-service restaurant and event space. Most importantly, Zeldner sees The HIVE as a community hub, a place where the public can attend bouquet-making workshops, concerts or parties for Woodland’s Sister City program with La Piedad, Mexico.
“The community aspect of The HIVE is a big theme that has carried me through as I’ve been making improvements and changes,” he said.
Breaking new ground
Building The HIVE brought new growth—and new challenges. Z Specialty Food was renting its warehouse at the time, so Zeldner initially considered renting or purchasing a pre-existing space. When he found the property that would become The HIVE, he took the leap and asked to buy it, despite never having purchased or developed land before.
“In the moment, looking back, I had this kind of tunnel vision,” he said. “I was like, ‘I know where I'm trying to go and I need to just take it one day at a time and keep doing certain things, and eventually we'll get there.’”
Zeldner prioritized sustainability when building The HIVE, adding large windows and solar panels to make the building a Zero Net Energy facility. In addition, The HIVE’s two-acre pollinator garden grows produce used in the restaurant, such as fava beans incorporated into a dip. Zeldner designed and installed much of the garden’s landscape with his wife, Rowan Boswell, who is the garden educator and pollen steward.
“We have a crew that comes through and helps [with the garden], but I do a lot of the pruning and weeding,” Zeldner said. “It's kind of my happy place.”
Continuing a legacy
Both Zeldner’s time at Leeds and his father informed his leadership style. In one of his first lecture classes at Leeds, for example, visits from the CEOs of companies like Starbucks and Quicksilver helped him recognize the importance of a people-centric approach.
“I could see that the attitude that a leader has really does impact the culture of the organization in a big way,” he said. “That's something that has stuck with me.”
Although he has changed some of his father’s approaches, running the company has helped him appreciate his father’s original vision.
“It was really a passion project where he followed his love for bees and honey and just said ‘I'm going to start a honey company,’” he said.
While Zeldner didn’t always dream of owning Z Specialty Food, he now recognizes how special and unique the company is.
“I knew there was some opportunity there,” he said. “Not just financial opportunity, but especially this opportunity to grow into being a bigger part of the community.”