Our Story

My name is John Hill, president of HillCo, LLC. I have been fascinated with honeybees ever since I was 4 or 5 years old, wondering what it looked like inside a beehive, and how bees made that delicious, golden honey. I caught my first swarm of bees at age 16 and have been a beekeeper most of the time since then. Bees are definitely a passion of mine, and now my wife and 4 kids are involved as well.

As I worked towards building my beekeeping hobby/addiction into a full-time business, I was always frustrated by how expensive beekeeping is. The cost of package bees, nucs, and queens keep getting higher, as does the cost of hive components, honey extracting equipment, etc. 

My original intent was to be a full-time beekeeper, not a beekeeping supplier. To save money as I expanded my apiary, I started building my own hives. As I got better at making hive components, I decided to sell some locally for extra income, and quickly realized that there was strong enthusiasm among central Illinois beekeepers for a local supplier. One thing led to another, and just a couple years later, we're now a nationally known, full-line beekeeping supplier shipping product all over the US and Canada! Our vision is to provide high quality products at a more affordable price than our competitors offer. We do this by purchasing at higher volumes direct from manufacturers whenever possible, limiting selection to focus on core items, and keeping our business operating costs low. When we’re not cheaper than the competition, we’ll beat them in quality and customer service!

We've made mistakes and are experiencing plenty of growing pains. However, I've also learned that building a business is fairly simple at its core. If we provide quality products at fair prices, and back it up with friendly, personal customer service, customers will come back again and again. Better yet, they'll tell their friends about us too! As a newer business, we're SO thankful for beekeepers that have given us a shot, and especially those who tell their friends about us!

We ask for the opportunity to earn your business. You’ll find our pricing, quality, and customer service to be top notch! Please visit us often as we expand our lineup with more great products.

Thanks so much for your time!

John and Marissa Hill & Family