A dark cherry mead made in Monmouthshire has been named regional champion for Wales at the 2026 Great British Food Awards. The winning drink, Dark Cherry Traditional Mead by Hive Mind Mead, also won in the awards’ Sustainable category.
The award draws attention both to the honey-based fruit mead and to the company's stated practices around honey sourcing, brewing and packaging.
Hive Mind was founded by brothers Kit and Matt Newell, whose interests in beekeeping and brewing underpin the business. Based in Monmouthshire, the company makes traditional mead, sparkling varieties, fruit-infused drinks and honey-based soft drinks.
Honey is central to the product
Mead is produced by fermenting honey. Hive Mind says it uses real British honey rather than a wine or refined-sugar base, and that its own hives are supplemented by honey from a wider network of beekeepers.
The business has more than 200 of its own hives, according to the award announcement. Working with other honey suppliers allows it to source additional honey beyond the volume produced by its own bees.
The company says it supports the wider beekeeping community and pollinators, and uses recyclable packaging and carbon-neutral canning. These are company-reported practices; their environmental impact has not been independently quantified in the award announcement.
On its sustainability page, Hive Mind says it avoids energy-intensive rapid chilling during mead production. It also reports that its canning partner uses electricity generated from biogas through anaerobic digestion. These are company descriptions rather than independently verified emissions figures.
A modern take on mead
Hive Mind's range includes traditional meads, melomels, sparkling meads, honey beer and honey-based soft drinks. The company has sought to position mead as a contemporary drink rather than limiting it to its historical associations.
Its products are stocked by retailers including M&S, the Co-op, the National Trust and Selfridges, according to the business. The company also supplies restaurants.
The Dark Cherry Melomel combines fruit with a honey-based fermented drink. The Great British Food Awards recognised it in a category focused on sustainability, bringing attention to the company's approach to ingredients and production as well as the finished product.
What the award means for Welsh food and drink
For a small Welsh drinks producer, awards can help introduce products to new customers and strengthen their visibility in a competitive market. A sustainability category also provides an opportunity to explain how a business approaches sourcing and production.
Hive Mind's use of British honey and its relationships with beekeepers give the business a clear link to the agricultural and rural economy. Its expanding range shows how a traditional fermented drink can be presented in different formats for modern consumers.
The latest recognition places the company among Welsh food and drink businesses receiving national attention, while highlighting the role of beekeeping and honey in the modern Welsh drinks industry.
