A storytelling boost for our beekeepers and honey sector

Today’s conscious consumer is increasingly mindful of the products they purchase and consume, and honey is no exception. While New Zealand’s dynamic mānuka honey has been an iconic symbol for New Zealand’s international honey reputation, the industry has a more diverse story to tell.

From sweet and buttery Kāmahi to floral Pōhutukawa, New Zealand is home to a range of ‘humbler’ honeys that all reflect their own natural source – from the landscape, climate and season, to the flowers and trees.

To showcase these, New Zealand Story has teamed up with Apiculture New Zealand to promote our honey sector in a more holistic way and educate the global market about our lesser known but equally beautiful honey varieties.

New Zealand’s honey sector has seen significant growth over the last 15 years, with hive numbers growing from approximately 300,000 in 2005 to close to one million in 2019. Beekeeper numbers have also grown substantially, from 3,000 beekeepers in 2010 to 9,282 in June 2019.

Over the past few years, however, New Zealand beekeepers producing non-mānuka honeys have seen a dramatic fall in their honey prices. The industry's challenge is to raise the profile of all New Zealand honeys, and the humbler as lesser known varieties. Then over time, this diversification will help establish a price premium.

The New Zealand honey sector story is the start of that work, and a result of an incredible collaboration of minds across the industry’s passionate leaders. With Apiculture New Zealand and its members, we’ve established five defining elements as part of the sector’s story:

• Caring for nature’s gift: New Zealand draws on its natural habitat to produce exceptional honey products that stand out on the world stage in terms of flavour, wellness, and sustainability
• A sensory experience: Sourced from hives located across mountain highlands or low-lying pastures, New Zealand’s wide spectrum of honey flavours and textures reflects the diversity of the country
• Quality, protection and assurance: New Zealand is committed to protecting the quality, integrity and purity of its honey, and continually meets strict standards to remain world-leading
• Technology and innovation: The industry leverages technology and innovation through all stages of honey production and processing to ensure products are authentic and pure
• Kaitiaki pī: The New Zealand honey industry is driven by a passion for exemplary beekeeping practices and on nurturing their critical role as honey producers and pollinators.

The story has been developed with the help of Apiculture NZ, Egmont Honey Limited, Himatangi Country Estate, Leef and Co. Group Ltd., Southern Alps Honey, Midlands Apiaries, Pūtake, Plant & Food Research and Onuku Honey Limited, and is the latest in a series of content assets designed by New Zealand Story to build New Zealand’s honey reputation.

Whether you are a honey producer or beekeeper, I encourage everyone within the industry to browse through our assets to see how they can help tell your story.

The suite of assets includes videos, imagery, exporting facts and messaging, ready to be shared in international markets. These materials are free to all exporters and organisations with an international audience.

All materials and the video can be accessed from the New Zealand Story Toolkit.