- Burt's Bees was founded by Roxanne Quimby and Burt Shavitz. The two started out selling candles made from the wax of the bees Burt raised for his honeybee business. They began working at craft shows in 1984 and made $200 at their first fair. By the end of their first year, they had made $20,000.
- The company started to gain some notoriety in 1989 when Zona Boutique in New York began ordering candles by the hundreds. Because of the volume at which Zona Boutique was ordering, Burt's Bees grew to a company of more than 40 people. By 1991, the company was making more than 500,000 candles a year and had expanded the product line to include natural soaps and perfumes. Also in 1991, they began selling lip balm, which is still the company's best-selling product today.
- By 1993, the company had moved from Maine to Creedmoor, N.C., and opened an 18,000-square-foot production facility. That year, the company also opened the first retail store in Chapel Hill, N.C., with more than 50 products to sell. By 1998, sales had topped $8 million and the company was selling more than 100 products in 4,000 outlets. In 1999, the company moved to a 136,000-square-foot facility and launched a Web site.
- In 2002, the company bought forest land in Maine for the purpose of preservation. That year, the company also started a relationship with The Nature Conservancy.
- The Burt's Bees Web site boasts that the company is a "leading manufacturer of Earth-friendly natural personal sales products." The company sold more than $250 million worth of product in 2006 and their line expanded to include more than 150 products, which are carried in more than 30,000 outlets all over the world.
