Blueskin Bay Skincare, Honey and Supply Co plans to shut its doors at the end of the month and move strictly to online, marking an end to its physical presence in the city after more than a decade.
Director David Milne said they were coming to the end of their two-year Stuart St lease, after about 10 years in Port Chalmers, and it had been wonderful to operate as a small boutique retailer in an historic part of town.
"I’m standing here now and looking at the very noisy and heavy machinery out the front and that’s affecting things, so we’re moving out.
"I’m not going to sign another two-year lease when there’s going to be huge roadworks in front of the shop. It wouldn’t make sense."
The block of lower Stuart St from The Octagon to Moray Pl is open to pedestrians is expected to be closed to traffic from July until October this year, as part of pipe upgrades in Bath St.
Mr Milne said it would be "quite sad" to leave the store behind, but it would not slow them down with their focus shifting to wholesale and exports.
Established in 2004, the company produces and sells its own honey, along with all natural serum moisturisers and sunscreen balms made with bee venom, manuka honey and pure beeswax, with the goal of helping people with skin conditions such as eczema and rosacea.
A lack of a physical presence would diminish some connection with their community, as hundreds of customers had come through their doors for expert advice and genuine help for sensitive skin.
The business would now start uploading informative videos, skincare blogging and advice to social media and YouTube.
Mr Milne believed their skincare formula was the "most effective" on the market.
Few others used bee venom as it was very hard to extract, but it had been proven to compete with traditional prescription skincare ointments. It was also "very dangerous" to collect and few people were qualified to take that risk.
A special frame was mounted on top of the bee colony which dried liquid venom on to a glass plate as bees stung through a wire cloth, which took a high level of skill and understanding to collect without being put at risk of being "stung to death".
Mr Milne said customers’ would still be looked after without a physical store.
