Backyard beekeeping has blossomed into a national movement, with over 855,000 registered beehives across Australia. To overcome the greatest barrier in beekeeping – the heavy lifting required to open a beehive – the inventors of the Flow Hive have created and launched the Flow Super Lifter after seven years of development, to revolutionise how beekeepers care for their bees.
This innovative product marks the return of world-renowned father-and-son inventors Cedar and Stuart Anderson, 10 years after they changed beekeeping forever by allowing honey to be harvested directly from the hive. Their next challenge was to address the heavy lifting involved in beekeeping.
To inspect the bees and apply pest treatments, modern beekeeping involves regularly having to lift heavy boxes (also called ‘supers’) from the hive. The Flow Super Lifter has been designed to utilise leverage to greatly reduce the effort required to open a beehive, making it much easier for the beekeeper and gentler on the bees.
Beekeeping has grown in popularity due to its many benefits including harvesting honey, enhancing pollination in local gardens and farms, and improving mental health through a connection to nature. The act of caring for bees provides a sense of purpose, encourages time outdoors, and produces honey that can be shared with neighbours, friends and family.
“When doing hive inspections, I thought there must be a better way to do this,” said Cedar Anderson, co-inventor of the Flow Hive. “My dad and I spent seven years perfecting this invention to make beekeeping as accessible and simple as possible while minimising the impact on our pollinator friends at the same time.”
How does it work? Unlike the traditional way of checking a hive by chiselling off a box and lifting boxes weighing up to 30kg each, the Flow Super Lifter quickly attaches to both Flow Hives and Langstroth hives, allowing an effortless lift of one or two boxes at a time.
It’s designed to crack the propolis seal between the super and brood box and then gently tilt the upper boxes backwards with ease. When the beekeeper is ready to close the hive again, it allows the boxes to be realigned and replaced without squashing bees. It’s lightweight, compact, and packs away easily with ergonomic handle extensions available as an add-on option to make heavy lifts even easier.
Why is it needed? The repeated strain of lifting heavy honey supers can be a barrier to entry to beekeeping, and in some cases leads to early retirement from beekeeping as a profession or hobby. The Flow Super Lifter eases the physical strain of lifting and moving hive boxes during essential routine hive checks. It makes beekeeping more accessible to people of all ages, including those with limited strength or mobility, and those starting or returning to the art later in life.
As the Australian beekeeping community faces the newly introduced threat of the Varroa mite, a parasitic pest threatening pollination across the country, the Flow Super Lifter provides a valuable tool for hive management. It enables beekeepers to carry out essential checks more efficiently and focus on addressing emerging challenges to reduce the impact.
A beekeeper next to a Flow Hive with the Flow Super Lifter and accessories in its carry bag.
An open Flow Hive with the Flow Super Lifter attached and a beekeeper easily accessing the hive.
The Flow Super Lifter is the latest innovation from the team behind the Flow Hive, which has transformed honey harvesting since its launch in 2015. The Flow Hive revolutionised the beekeeping world by enabling honey to be harvested directly from the hive without disturbing the bees. The product’s launch raised over US$12 million through crowdfunding and has gone on to amass a global community of over 140,000 customers, with celebrity supporters including David Beckham, Jamie Oliver, and Chris Hemsworth.
In addition to its product innovations, Flow has committed more than $1 million to pollinator conservation initiatives, helping protect bees and other vital pollinators globally. The company’s mission is to have a regenerative impact on the planet through innovation in beekeeping that inspires, empowers and connects.
“Our mission has always been to create a smoother path to beekeeping that protects and helps pollinators thrive,” said Cedar. “We want to continue empowering beekeepers by educating our community on the vital role bees play in maintaining biodiversity and by offering products that enhance beekeeping for both the beekeeper and the bees.”
The Flow Super Lifter will be available to order from the Flow website from 11 February 2025 and offers the below kits:
Super Lifter Standard Kit | RRP AUD $349
Super Lifter & Extension Kit | RRP AUD $449 (includes extension handles)
Super Lifter Deluxe Kit (includes a carry bag, extension handles and extra hardware) | RRP AUD $549
