THE BE HIVE NOW FULLY OWNS THEIR OWN MANUFACTURING BUILDING: MORE SPACE AND MORE CONTROL MEANS MORE SUPPLY

“I realized something at pizza expo last month… the BE Hive has grown organically and primarily from word of mouth, and that makes me feel good. We’ve led “food first” for years, and have really strived to make a great product that leaves people not missing the “meat” component when eating our food. This has allowed us to stay nimble, and when combined with us now owning our manufacturing, i feel driven to continue to provide great vegan foods for our consumers to eat long term.”

-Ben stix, Founder of the be hive

After moving into our 7500 sqft facility in Nashville TN and renovating it to suit our needs in 2020, Founder Ben Stix purchased the building in Dec 2021, doubling their facility size, adding a dock and ample freezer space to meet the growing demand for BE Hive's dope plant food.  

Who we are: the partnership of good music and good food

“Ahead of it’s time, the Be Hive was the first to market offering high quality vegan pepperoni. Even with all the players entering the market these days, the Be Hive still stands a cut above the rest.”

- Scott Sandler, pizza yogi - consultant - pizza chef

Founder Ben Stix moved to TN in 2002 to surround himself with music. After migrating over to Nashville from Murfreesboro, Ben met like minded musicians, joined their band Born Empty and lived in a house they dubbed the BE Hive. Every few months, the band would throw vegan pot lucks at the house and when on tour, would barter delicious plant based breakfasts for places to crash.  Food and healthy living quickly became a huge passion, specifically for Ben Stix and Eric Esters (B and E), who took the lead on the cooking and organization of these potlucks. They began throwing weekly buffets at the local vegan restaurant the Wild Cow, always contributing a portion of the proceeds to local groups, charities and non -profits.

After a few years of making seitan for local customers, Chef Diana Lee Zadlo joined the team after transitioning from full time tour and merch management to helping Ben create a broader range of products for the awesome BE Hive community.    With the addition of new products and a culinary director, a plant based deli & market seemed like the next obvious step. What better way to feature the BE Hive products and to test out their products on a restaurant level. The BE Hive deli was born and is now open 7 days a week in East Nashville. 

in 2020, BE Hive production transitioned from their small 1200 sqft kitchen to a new 7500 sqft facility in the heart of Donelson.  Currently, the BE Hive crew is at about 30 people between both locations and they are a true motley crew of artist, musicians, scientist, farmers, and passionate folks who Growing organically from the beginning, the BE Hive continues to make plant based eating approachable and will keep doing so! 

top selling products / Where to find them:

The BE Hive specializes in helping pizzerias, delicatessens, diners and more serve up satisfying and flavorful vegan menu options. Last year our top sellers were our Seitan Pepperoni, Italian Crumbles, Garlic Cheeze Shreds and Deli Slices. All our SKUs are available food service either direct or from the following distributors: 

UNFI RETAIL - South East (Atlanta, Florida, and Mid Atlantic)
Alexus Foods - Portland OR
Pontrelli - Los Angeles
PFG - Nashville, Knoxville, Birmingham, Cincinatti, Northern California 
ACE Natural - Mid Atlantic
US Foods - NYC
Greco & Sons - Denver 
KEHE Retail - TX

POP UPS & EVENTS Drive the Vibe at the BE HIVE

What started as weekly pop ups exploded into a full fledge food manufacturing company and 7 day a week deli & market. As former Touring Professionals, throwing an event is in our blood and is a huge part of what makes the BE Hive what it is. From monthly themed events and improv jams at our neighboring venue the East Room, to our now highly anticipated multi-vendor fair BAR-BE-CUE, we continue to bring the spirit of the live event through our food. This year we started hosting more pop-up chefs and restaurant concepts, follow us at @thebehive for more info on upcoming events. 

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