PSK – The Story

The first PSKs were initially an experiment. Marco and Christoph tested materials, improved the scales, and tried out new variants again and again. But at some point, they wanted to know: Does the idea also work outside their own apiary? The answer was to come at a trade fair. At EuroBee in Friedrichshafen, they presented the PSK to a larger audience for the first time. For the two founders, this was a special moment because suddenly experienced beekeepers stood before them, took the cards in their hands, asked questions, and tried the system themselves. Many visitors understood the idea immediately. They took the pins, looked at the scales, and said, "That actually makes total sense." The feedback was overwhelmingly positive and confirmed Marco and Christoph in their assumption: The PSK solves a real problem in beekeeping. At the same time, a new idea emerged at this fair. Many beekeepers found the analog system excellent but also wished for a way to store the data digitally and analyze it long-term. This led to the next major development step. A third man joined the team: Tim, a computer scientist from Göttingen. He developed an app that can automatically recognize the position of the pins on the card. With a simple photo, the PSK can be scanned, and the app transfers the information directly into a digital history. This created the system that defines PSK Beekeeping today: a robust analog documentation directly at the apiary and intelligent digital analysis in the background.

More than just a single product gradually developed from the PSK. Around the work at the beehive, new ideas kept emerging, many inspired by direct exchange with the beekeeper community. A special project is “Beekeeper – The Game”, a board game for the whole family. In it, two to four players manage their own beehive through a complete beekeeping year. It involves decisions, events, and typical challenges from beekeeping – presented playfully and with a lot of humor. The game quickly became a popular product for beekeepers and everyone interested in bees. Another project is the Beekeeper Advent Calendar. The idea behind it was a calendar that not only contains small surprises but truly useful and creative products for the beehive. That’s why the calendar was designed with multiple layers, so larger items can also fit inside – from tools to accessories to special small gift ideas for beekeepers. During the development of this advent calendar, a new product line also emerged: the Holy series. Originally, a special scented smoke material for the smoker was developed, which provides pleasant, aromatic smoke blends. The idea was so well received that it became an independent brand, which is now being further developed independently of the advent calendar. Alongside these product ideas, interest in the PSK itself also grew. More and more beekeepers from other countries discovered the system. Therefore, the card was gradually translated into more and more languages and offered internationally. Today, it is available in more than ten languages and is used in many countries across Europe and beyond. What started as a small idea at the home beehive has thus gradually developed into a growing range of products around modern and practical beekeeping.