Business makes unique candy using honey, no artificial ingredients.

Publication: Billings Gazette (Billings, Montana) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News)

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COPYRIGHT 2005 Billings Gazette

Byline: Ruffin Prevost

Dec. 18--LOVELL, Wyo. -- Bessie Zeller says her Queen Bee Gardens candy company is named after a Japanese business she and her husband, Clarence, saw while visiting their son in the Navy more than 30 years ago.

But after a visit with the 80-year-old dynamo, it's apparent the name might just as well apply to her.

"I'm very much involved in the business," she said. "I don't feel like I'm ready to retire. I enjoy this."

Queen Bee Gardens sells unique, handmade candies, including some sweetened only with honey, to retail outlets in all 50 states.

Because many of the products contain no refined sugar and use only natural ingredients, they have long been popular with health food stores, including Mary's Health Foods and Bonanza Health Foods in Billings.

A Web site offering candy bags and variety gift boxes is a fast-growing segment of the business, and the company continues to expand its line of gourmet, chocolate-covered truffles with honey-based centers.

The...

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