Manawa Honey

They engage in a wide range of initiatives, such as business development for indigenous forestry and honey production, as well as research, biodiversity, and pest control programs. Manawa Honey is one of the ventures that is associated with Tuawhenua Trust.

The forests of Te Urewera extend over 200,000 hectares in the heart of the North Island forming the highlands and hinterland of the Bay of Plenty and Northern Hawkes Bay. These forests hold a great diversity of flora from the lower reaches of river valleys to the summits of the mountain ranges. Ferns abound throughout the region with shrubbery of many species and then the majestic podocarps tower at the top of the forest canopy.

Delights for the honey bee abound – swathes of magical mānuka on lower slopes and flats; Rewarewa standing as sentinels above the scrub on ridges and slopes; Tāwari groves deep in the forest on the mountain ranges, Tawhero on mountain ridges; Māhoe in the damp green gullies – these are the main honey sources. But there’s also Ramarama, Kaikōmako, Kōkōmuka, Parapara, Houhi, Hohoeka, Putaputawētā.

Manawa Honey is a business that concentrates on creating premium honey and goods with honey as an ingredient. Three friends with a shared appreciation of bees and honey started the business in 2016. They set out to develop a brand that would honour the distinctive tastes of Aotearoa honey and promote environmentally friendly beekeeping methods.

Manawa Honey's key selling point is the fact that they source their honey from small-scale beekeepers across Aotearoa. By working directly with beekeepers, Manawa Honey can ensure that their honey is of the highest quality and that beekeepers are paid a fair price for their products. Manawa Honey also produces a range of honey-based products, including honeycomb, honey mustard, and honey-based skincare products. All of their products are made with natural ingredients and are free from additives and preservatives.

Manawa Products

Manawa Honey produces a variety of high-quality honey products that are both delicious and nutritious. One of their most popular products is their Manuka Honey, which is known for its antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. This honey is sourced from the nectar of the Manuka bush, which is native to New Zealand.

In addition to their Manuka Honey, Manawa Honey also produces a range of other honey products, including their Creamed Clover Honey, which is a smooth and creamy honey that is perfect for spreading on toast or adding to hot beverages. They also offer a range of flavored honey, such as their Lemon Infused Honey and Cinnamon Infused Honey, which are great for adding a burst of flavour to your favorite foods and drinks.

Manawa Honey also produces a range of honey-based skincare products, including their Manuka Honey Lip Balm and Manuka Honey Body Butter. These products are all-natural and free from harmful chemicals, making them perfect for anyone who wants to take care of their skin the natural way.

Brand and Values

COVID-19 hit small businesses hard, but Manawa Honey hit back to grow their reputation as a producer of some of the best-tasting honey in the world. Maximising their time in lockdown, Manawa Honey set out to explore how to take its product range from land to brand. With borders closed, their target market of international visitors had dried up and the businesses that once sold their products had closed shop or gone into hibernation.

Respect for cultural values and the communities you serve builds the integrity of your brand. In practice, Manawa Honey’s owners refused to compromise on quality. Instead, they believed in the economic value of local provenance and showed respect for their methods and ingredients. They set their sights on validating their products against international producers, to test their future exporting strategy.

In June 2021 they won the supreme award for their Rewarewa honey at the Black Jar International Honey Tasting Contest in the USA, beating hundreds of competitors from around the world. Despite years of being told to be more flexible with their values if they wanted to get their product to market, their active choice to hold tight to those values is helping them to take a step ahead in a market that prizes local provenance driven by ethical consumerism.

Overall, Manawa Honey produces a wide range of delicious and high-quality honey products that are perfect for anyone who wants to enjoy the natural goodness of honey. Whether you're looking for a delicious spread for your toast or a natural skincare product, Manawa Honey has something for everyone.

Goals and sustainability

Manawa Honey has a medium-term goal of becoming a $3-4 million business that will employ around 25 people and it is currently building a new packhouse that will help it reach that goal. But values will always trump value and it aims to maintain its boutique feel.

For Brenda Tahi, the Chief Executive of Manawa Honey NZ, honey is not the end. It’s a means to an end; part of a value chain that extends from the land they manage to the people they support to the customers they eventually impress with their world-class products.

Tahi quotes: “We’ve got a 100-year plan for our forest and we should have a 1000-year plan because that’s the timeframe the forest moves on. The kinds of things we would like to do for our people and our land, we can’t do that quickly. We take our time to ensure we take our people with us and look after the forest as we go. So we’re not in a hurry to do things.”

Manawa Honey has also been able to maintain its competitive edge by adopting sustainable and environmentally friendly practices in their production process. This has helped them to differentiate themselves from other honey producers in the market.

Local and export prices

The retail price range in New Zealand Dollar for natural honey is between NZD 12.73 and NZD 39.77. In 2023, the approximate wholesale price range for New Zealand natural honey is between US$ 5.6 and US$ 17.5 per kilogram.

The export price of Natural Honey from New Zealand over the last five years has been quite varied.

Based on this data, it is predicted that the export price of Natural Honey from New Zealand will be 24.45 US dollars in 2023 and 24.60 US dollars in 2024.

The amount of natural honey sold by New Zealand in 2020 was 14,354 metric tonnes. In 2019 New Zealand sold 9,418 tonnes of natural honey. For the year 2019 alone, the demand for New Zealand natural honey (processed category) has improved, with a change of 4.401 percent compared to the year 2018. Between 2017 and 2019, natural honey's exports went down by -14.93 pc netting the country US$228.78m for the year 2019.

Further reading

Sweet challenge for Urewera miere maker

Manawa Honey tastes sweet success locally and overseas - YouTube

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