Honey and Healing: How Kushinda Little is Building a Legacy of Wellness with Yummy Honey Company  

From the outside, Kushinda Little’s decision to open an artisan honey company may have seemed like an unexpected departure from her successful career in fashion. But for Little, who spent her childhood helping her mother cook, harvest their garden, and keep honeybees, it felt like a homecoming. Since the birth of her son in 2020, Little has redefined her mission in life to one of education, health, and environmental stewardship. With the Yummy Honey Company, she educates her clients on where their food comes from and the importance of eating nourishing ingredients—all while honoring the legacy of her ancestor, Malcom X, in her intentional actions to create opportunities for youth across Sacramento and the Bay Area. Working with Sacramento Valley SBDC to pursue contracting opportunities, Little plans to expand her influence and reach new markets by doing business with public and private entities.   

After a decade in the New York fashion industry, Little returned to Sacramento planning to reconnect with her roots and transform her hometown into a hot spot for fashion—but after learning she was pregnant, she reevaluated the impact she wanted her career to have. “Having my son was a pivotal moment,” she explains. “I shifted my focus to figuring out what type of impact I could make on my community that would benefit him in the long run.”  

With this mission established, Little set out to create a company that would prioritize environmental sustainability, responsible sourcing, and community empowerment. To combine her innate understanding of farm-to-table philosophies with her entrepreneurial spirit, Little began attending courses in agriculture business at Cosumnes River College. “A lot of people of color are an integral part of our food system, but don’t understand the business side,” says Little, reflecting on her decision to focus on traditional business principles. “They are the ones that pick fruits and vegetables, but they aren’t at the forefront of agriculture businesses. I felt like a voice needed to be there.” Initially intending to start a fashion line that used locally-sourced natural fibers, Little decided to go all in on honey after learning more about the horticulture of beekeeping and the benefits of organic honey.   

“I’ve always had the love of bees because of their importance to food and agriculture. I have a saying for my business: You can be anything you want to be, but we are nothing without the honeybee,” Little explains, adding that the symbolism of the honeybee across various cultures has carried her through the first few years in business with Yummy Honey Company.  

Now, Little has five beehives, which she leases to various local farms and harvests on-site. The arrangement is mutually beneficial, with the farmers’ crops being pollinated, and Little able to collect five distinct honey varietals. All of her honey is certified Kosher, which makes the production process more involved but maintains high standards of quality which Little knows she can stand behind.  

ACCESSING RESOURCES TO ENTER NEW MARKETS 

While selling at farmers markets and artisan pop-up events has helped Little build a loyal customer base and share her passion for horticulture, she knows that the key to sustainability is expansion—and to expand Yummy Honey Company, she is dreaming big. In 2024, she began working with Sacramento Valley SBDC to gain the certifications necessary to do business with public agencies and private companies.  

“After I learned what doors open for businesses with the right certifications, I reached out to Sacramento Valley SBDC for help. Having people you can ask questions to and get free information from is huge as an entrepreneur,” she says. “You have to ask the right questions, but being part of the SBDC has created some lightbulbs in the darkness for me.” 

 Little explains that, while it has been a long process of completing the necessary paperwork, being connected with business resources has helped her access opportunities she would not have otherwise known about—like the chance to become a vendor at Sacramento International Airport. Thanks to her connection with Sacramento Valley SBDC, Little was chosen to participate in a networking and product showcase event at the airport, where she met buyers from prime contractors and key members of the airport’s concessionaire team. “I have been able to network with some important people, and I never would have known about the opportunity if my SBDC advisor had not pointed me there,” explains Little, emphasizing that entering larger markets is key to her plans for sustainability and growth.  

CULTIVATING FUTURE GENERATIONS OF ENTREPRENEURS  

Moving forward, in addition to her own expansion, Little hopes to see the world of food and agriculture expand to include more small businesses and young entrepreneurs. She has spoken to youth in the Bay Area that work at community gardens, as well as local chapters of the Boys and Girls Club. “I want them to know that they can be successful, no matter what they are currently going through. I also want them to understand the importance of knowing the business side of entrepreneurship,” she says, adding that her main message to the business owner of tomorrow is persistence. “It’s a lot of leg work, and it won’t happen overnight, but as long as you make strides every day you will get somewhere.”