Washdyke-based The Mānuka Collective, formerly known as 100% Pure New Zealand Honey, won 11 medals (seven gold and four silver) and the top prize at the Apiculture NZ conference held in Christchurch.
The company’s operations manager Jarved Allan told The Timaru Herald the team was “really excited and over the moon” to win the award again.
“It is a good opportunity to showcase to the world what we are doing here. We are always looking at improving and we will see what next year brings,’’ Allan said.
The competition’s head judge commented that more honey producers were entering the competition which was a good thing to see, Allan said.
“It is good to see people pushing good quality honey and we are always focused on improving the quality of our honey,” he said.
An advantage the company had in the industry was being able to source the honey it wanted from around the country, working alongside independent beekeepers, and giving it to the world, he said.
Sean Goodwin, chief executive of The Mānuka Collective, said that following two gold medals in 2019 and four gold medals in 2021, he was very pleased to see the company’s continued improvement.
“This is a great result for us and it follows on the back of news we announced in February, regarding a merger with North Island honey company Three Peaks,” Goodwin said.
“The architect of this win is our fantastic operations manager, Jarved Allan, who has been with the company for 20 years.”
Goodwin said Allan’s skills and knowledge in the honey industry were ‘’second to none’’, and were a key reason for the company’s continued success.
“I think it is the focus Jarved puts into the different categories at the competition,” Goodwin said.
“He put more focus into other areas, and where we got silver and bronze [medals] during the competition last year, we got gold.”
Goodwin also complemented the quality of honey from suppliers and said the company planned on entering the competition again next year.
“It will be nice to win three times in a row.”
He said the awards improved the presence of the company in national and international markets and, following a difficult time during the Covid-19 pandemic, the improved quality of the honey would be welcomed by their customers.
Apiculture NZ chief executive Karin Kos said the quality of honey at the competition continued to improve.
She said more than 100 jars of honey were tested and judged at this year’s event, and it was an “excellent outcome” for Allan and his team.
“A judge with international judging experience said there was a high quality of entries, and it was getting harder and harder to judge each year,” Kos said.
She said the awards helped the honey industry in New Zealand by showcasing the honey produced in the country and also the high quality nature of the honey.
The Mānuka Collective is a merger between Timaru’s 100% Pure New Zealand Honey and Hamilton-based Three Peaks Mānuka Honey.
The two honey producers announced the merger in February with 100% Pure New Zealand Honey’s owner, Steve Lyttle, calling the merger a “positive step”.
Lyttle said the merger allowed for greater potential for the two companies in the world market.
At the time Lyttle said the beekeeping would take place in Hamilton, with the honey packing done in Timaru.
As published in the Timaru Herald on 04 July 2022
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