100 years of tradition
Alberic J. Florizoone:
a born beekeeper-entrepreneur
Meli’s early years date back to 1925, when founder and inspirer Alberic Joseph Florizoone (°1907) began selling the honey he harvested in the backyard of his parents’ house to his neighbours, friends and family. As he said himself: “The passion for honey was instilled in us from birth.” So, the love of bees was in Alberic’s genes. He was the fourth generation of beekeepers in the family and became the first to make honey his profession.
In no time, this honey from Veurne-Ambacht became a success and, in 1927, the born entrepreneur won two prizes at the National Bee Exhibition in Leuven.
In 1928, Alberic came up with the idea of taking a glass hive to his aunt’s pub to show everyone how honey was made. He told passers-by all about honey and let them taste his honey.
At the 1932 Antwerp International Exhibition, his hive was announced as a world first and awarded a gold medal. Alberic Florizoone was now more convinced than ever that there was potential in his idea and began to hatch the concept that would later become Meli.
Meli Park, where many children took their first steps into the wonderful world of bees
Alberic Florizoone’s ambition was great, and so he sought a better-sounding name for his honey. Alberic chose an anagram for the French word Miel (honey): Meli. French, because honey was mainly a delicacy for the bourgeoisie before World War II, and they spoke French. It later turned out that Meli is also the Greek word for honey, a marvellous coincidence.
Alberic built a revolutionary building in Adinkerke, designed by cubist architect Jozef Denorme. On Easter Sunday 1935, the Bee Palace opened its doors, immediately attracting crowds of visitors. Alberic himself held walking lectures all day, and in the following days, weeks and years, more and more people came to Adinkerke. With a conference room, exhibition space, an open area for hives and a cafeteria with terrace, Alberic had a place where he could welcome visitors and introduce them to the world of bees. In the building’s basement area, there was a space for honey spinning and filling. This was the beginning of Meli Park.
After the war, the Bee Palace attracted so many visitors that expansion was needed. A new building complex, overlooking the immensely popular bird park, rustic buildings, a deer meadow, a flamingo pond, etc. was built. In the following years, the park, under the name Meli Park, grew to become the Belgian coast’s main attraction.
Over the years, the park continued to expand with attractions like the Fairytale Forest, a well-stocked zoo, the dancing fountains, the Apirama, Carioca, Splash, monorail and so much more. And thus Alberic Florizoone – without it ever being his goal – became an amusement park pioneer in Europe. As the economy kept on improving, we got more leisure time in Europe. As a result, larger and larger groups started visiting Meli Park. Even French, German and English families and schools found their way to Adinkerke. A success the Florizoone family is still proud of today.
Meli pavilion at Expo 58
During the World Expo 58 in Brussels, Meli built a large pavilion of no less than 1,200 m2 next to Vrolijk België, including the attraction The Wonderful Beehive, the Water Symphony and a sales stand with Meli products. Afterwards, Meli operated the city park Meli Heysel at this location, at the foot of the Atomium, until 1986. Today, this spot is home to Bruparck with Mini-Europa and Kinepolis.
In 1999, Alberic Florizoone was posthumously – he died in 1992 – honoured for his pioneering work. His picture appears in the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Hall of Fame alongside those of Walt Disney and Anton Pieck. To focus more on its core business, honey and honey products, the Florizoone family sold the park to Studio 100 in the same year. After a thorough rebranding, the park continues under the name Plopsaland.
Meli comes home and launches the squeeze bottle
To meet customer expectations, Meli introduced the squeeze bottle for liquid honey. Thanks to the ease of use in the kitchen, sales are experiencing a solid boost. Because of this, Meli is getting noticed abroad and enters the international market.
Due to Meli’s international growth, the building in Brussels could no longer serve its purpose. There were no opportunities for expansion as the building was listed as heritage. Therefore, Meli started looking for a new location, and Veurne once again came into the picture. So, Meli moved back to its current home base.
Meli opened one of the newest honey farms in Europe in Veurne, Belgium, in 1997. 4.660 m², equipped with state-of-the-art honey technology including the first fully automatic filling line for squeeze bottles. In that same year, Meli Honey is recognised by several quality institutes.
Meli, all set for the future
Up to this day, Meli watches over the quality of its unique honey flavour on a daily basis. That is why we continue to invest in state-of-the-art facilities, such as our NMR lab that allows us to monitor and guarantee the quality of our products in a high-tech and scientific way. Green energy and sustainable waste management have -of course- also made their appearance.
After Meli acquired the largest Dutch honey company de Traay in 2021, we were able to significantly expand our honey range. This allows us to continue the development and search for new honey origins, blends, and flavours from around the world. As you can see, Meli is heading for a sweet future!
