A beekeeper holds a section of a hive covered in bees.

Carlson Impact Lab Students Bridge Business and Bees

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

By Rose Semenov

Running a honey business means navigating sticky situations. This spring, Minnesota Carlson undergraduate students entered the hive by partnering with Humboldt Honey MPLS, a local beekeeping business based out of a neighborhood garden in north Minneapolis.

Humboldt Honey MPLS centers its mission on the community and the environment by encouraging sustainability and stewardship through beekeeping, while also selling honey products. 

“The reason we decided to partner with the Impact Lab is we are gardeners and beekeepers, and the whole business idea of a business is not our forte,” said Joanne Goddard, a Humboldt Honey co-owner.

Worker Bees

In the Impact Lab, undergraduate students take on clients, examine their business challenges, and develop insights and recommendations. This semester, student teams worked with Humboldt Honey to increase brand awareness in the community and build a more efficient financial tracking system. 

Key Takeaways

Hands-on Learning: Students gained real-world experience by partnering with a local beekeeping business.

Community Impact: Teams built a website and financial tools to help Humboldt Honey MPLS thrive.

Skill Application: Undergraduate students used marketing and finance lessons to solve real client pain points.

A group of people wearing beekeeping suits gather around a hive. The following text is overlaid on the image: "Impact Lab Takes On Bees"

The Business of the Bees

Undergraduate Minnesota Carlson students in the Impact Lab reflect on their experience working with Humboldt Honey MPLS, a local beekeeping business focused on encouraging sustainability.

Video by Pat Vasquez-Cunningham

A group of six students give a presentation with a slide deck.
Elena Roquet (center) presents findings with her classmates to Humboldt Honey MPLS. Photo by Pat Vasquez-Cunningham

“Our goal for the semester was to create a central hub for them in an Excel spreadsheet where they could see their metrics, KPIs, revenue, expenses, and margins on specific apiaries to try and make it easier for them to make smarter financial decisions,” said Rocco Ramirez, a sophomore double-majoring in Marketing and Finance.

“When we realized they didn't have a standalone website, we decided that creating a fully functional website would be a great way for them to broaden their reach to the community and educate more people on beekeeping and environmental stewardship,” said Elena Roquet, a junior double-majoring in Business Analytics and Marketing.

Danielle Tietjen, a Humboldt Honey MPLS co-owner, says the teams developed tools that will make an immediate impact on the business.

“The students provided us an opportunity to really drill down and redefine who we are and what kind of business we want to run,” said Danielle Tietjen. “Their work is so thoughtful and was exactly what we were looking for.”

Combing Through Challenges

Bees fly into a hive
Bees fly into a hive at Humboldt Honey MPLS. Photo by Dan Gunderson

Students say the project provided opportunities to develop both technical and soft skills — especially communication. 

“I think it's super important to actually meet face to face with the clients so that you can hear their problem and focus on their pain points so that in your final deliverable, you can tailor the results to what they need exactly,” said Ramirez.

Assessing the situation required putting foundational knowledge from other classes into action.

“I've incorporated all the education that I've had from my Carlson experience into this website,” said Roquet. “All my marketing classes have made an impact on how we've built the website by using Z-shape patterns to help with readability.”

Beyond the Hive

Ramirez and Roquet say the Impact Lab experience will continue to inform their work throughout their academic and professional careers.

“Getting hands-on experience and working with a real client means everything as a student,” said Rocco Ramirez. “It's just really valuable experience that you usually see in an internship, but it's just part of our education, which is really cool.”

All while providing a sense of pride in helping make a difference in the community.

“The work I'm doing in school is making an impact outside of just my grade, so getting to work with a real client, what we do matters to them, and it matters to their business,” said Roquet. “The work that we got to do in Impact Lab is going to be seen for years to come.”

A group of students, mentors, an instructor and clients stand together in a classroom smiling.
Students pose with clients from Humboldt Honey MPLS following their final presentations. Photo by Pat Vasquez-Cunningham

Gain Hands-On Experience

Discover the Undergraduate Program
Tags Undergraduate