Waste Wise and Energy Smart success story: Sweet Harvest Foods

Sweet Harvest Foods is Minnesota’s leading expert in honey. With operations in Cannon Falls and Lakeville, the company has become the leading procurer of honey in the U.S. and provides the highest-quality ingredients for some of the most iconic brands and beloved products. Sweet Harvest Foods is also the parent company of Nate’s Honey, the number-one branded honey, and Nate’s Hives, the largest beekeeper in the U.S.

After joining the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce in 2024, Sweet Harvest Foods connected with the Minnesota Chamber Environmental Sustainability Foundation (MCESF) to explore new ways to advance their sustainability goals. Alex Christensen from Energy Smart and Madeleine Partch from Waste Wise met with Sweet Harvest Foods at both facilities to audit their energy efficiency and waste management systems.

Past projects can offer just as much opportunity as future ones when it comes to improving energy efficiency and capturing cost savings. When Christensen toured the Lakeville Sweet Harvest Foods location, LED lighting and new rooftop HVAC units were already in place, but the utility rebates available hadn’t been optimized by Sweet Harvest Foods. After filing the necessary paperwork with their utilities, Sweet Harvest Foods secured retroactive rebates for the projects already completed.

The team also identified several opportunities to reduce waste going to landfill and cut costs, including reusable pallet wrap systems and washing systems for tote, drum and other containers. Ultimately, Sweet Harvest Foods chose to focus first on a solution that was both highly impactful and relatively simple to implement: collecting and baling plastic film from shipments for recycling.

With a MCESF grant, Sweet Harvest Foods purchased a baler for plastic film collection at their Cannon Falls location and launched a new plastic film recycling program in late 2025. The results were immediate. Between its two locations, the company has already recycled more than 20,200 pounds of plastic film and is projected to divert 15 tons of it from the landfill annually.

Beyond the environmental impact, the project has also helped build employee engagement around sustainability efforts within the company.

The success of Sweet Harvest Foods demonstrates how relatively simple operational changes, paired with technical assistance and targeted funding support, can lead to significant waste reduction and long-term cost savings.