Building a buzz: Saratoga Springs teen turns ambition and passion into multiple businesses
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- Jethro Peretto, far right, and two of his employees talk with customers inside a booth at ShopFest Utah in Eagle Mountain on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
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- Amrita Honey products are shown inside of a booth at ShopFest Utah in Eagle Mountain on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
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- Jethro Peretto is shown in an undated photo.
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- Chiseled & Kempt products are shown inside of a booth at ShopFest Utah in Eagle Mountain on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
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- Amrita Honey products inside of a booth at ShopFest Utah in Eagle Mountain on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025.
When Jethro Peretto graduated high school back in May, his ambition to exist in the entrepreneurial space was already underway.
Jethro, 18, of Saratoga Springs owns two businesses: Amrita Honey, a local raw honey business, and Chiseled & Kempt, a men’s grooming line.
At the age of 14, Jethro started a beekeeping business and has since grown it into a local raw honey producer.
The men’s grooming line, which he started at 16, originated from a school project.
“I had a mentorship with a business guy and he assigned me to put together a business called an umbrella company that I could just build upon for years to come,” Jethro said regarding his men’s grooming line. “And I just decided to use my business plan (and) my homework and started doing what I love.”
Jethro said running multiple businesses comes with its set of growing pains, but he’s enjoyed the journey so far.
“It’s where I wanted (them) to be at. I never wanted to work fast food or anything like that,” he said.
Jethro’s buzz for honey started when he was only 3 when his family took up beekeeping in their home garden. They had to forego the hobby after some time, due to his mother’s allergic reaction to being stung.
“Every time that I got stung, I had a worse reaction,” said Tara Peretto, Jethro’s mother and business partner.
He realized how much he missed beekeeping, and when Jethro turned 13, he convinced his mother to let him try it again.
“We found a commercial beekeeper that would help teach him, and he learned that way,” she said. “And then through that, he started his business.”
Jethro said they currently have 50 hives throughout Utah County.
Amrita Honey doesn’t use heat when it harvests; its unfiltered honey is cold-extracted from the hive in efforts to retain its living enzymes, his brother Corbin told SLUG Magazine, during the Craft Lake City DIY festival in 2023.
Some of their products include lemon honey, whipped-flavored honey, spiced mulberry honey, various flavors of raw, unfiltered wildflower honey and many more.
Jethro has begun building a customer base by selling his products at farmer’s markets, pop-up shops as well as numerous events in Utah and Salt Lake counties.
He’s even caught the eye of local retailers who want to carry his honey, but Jethro said the business would need to expand its production capacity to keep up with the demand.
“We actually had Harmons reach out to us about eight months ago, asking to get in because they’ve seen us and we’ve gone to markets where they’ve hosted our stuff,” he said. “They (Harmons) want to stock our stuff in all their stores. (We’re) just trying to figure out money to get the equipment to be able to fulfill that order.”
Jethro is hoping to raise $10,000 to grow the business, with as little debt as possible.
He said his goal over the next year or so is to have both businesses become self-reliant and more profitable and to have the products reach local store shelves.
Tara Peretto said she’s watched her son navigate the obstacles of starting and operating multiple businesses, and his determination is a testament to his resilience and aspirations for success.
“He’s learned that he can do anything, and that if you want anything worthwhile, you have to commit to doing all of the things that aren’t necessarily fun that are required to make it happen,” she told the Daily Herald.
Jethro encourages others his age who also want to pursue entrepreneurship to embrace the hard days and remain steadfast on achieving their goals.
“Don’t give up,” he said. “The first step is always the hardest. Just do it and see how it goes (and) don’t be afraid of failure.”
Amrita Honey and Chiseled & Kempt are sold at the Downtown Salt Lake City farmers market each Saturday and will be sold at the Orem farmers market on Wednesdays starting next week.
More information about both businesses can be found at amritahoneyco.com, which is being developed and is expected to be operational in the coming weeks, and chiseledandkempt.com.
