A small honey producer from Ruatāhuna, in the remote Te Urewera wilderness, crowned Best Tasting Honey in the World earlier this year, has now won four awards at the London International Honey Awards 2021.
Manawa Honey’s Manuka Honey and Tawari Honey won Gold, and their Rewarewa Honey and Pua-a-Tane Wild Forest Honey won Silver. The London Honey Awards attract hundreds of entries from over 30 countries across the world each year. Entries are judged on a range of criteria including the general sense of enjoyment, taste and appearance.
These achievements and awards are now snowballing for this honey producer that has its community rather than commerce alone at heart. Ruatāhuna is situated deep in Te Urewera forest, home to the Tūhoe tribe. It has a population of only about 350 people residents and is a one-hour drive from the nearest town, Murupara and two-hour’s drive from Rotorua.
Manawa Honey CEO Brenda Tahi said the company was established to create jobs for locals and to inspire rangatahi (the younger generation). Brenda now sees the honey business as a platform for reaching out to people across the world, as customers and partners:
“The collective goal for the people of Ruatāhuna is to have a thriving community, connected not only to the land and forest that are an essential part of us, but also connected to people and activity across the globe that’s of great interest to us.”
“We were ‘buzzing’ when we found out we had won awards in the London contest. These awards come on the back of our Rewarewa Honey being crowned the Best Tasting Honey in the World in the USA back in June, with our other honeys reaching the final of that contest. Our honey now sits with the world’s best, backed by these international contest wins and awards.”
“It’s even more rewarding for us to hear our kids at the local kura proudly say the Best Honey in the World is produced by their own whanau right here in Ruatāhuna. This was always one of our goals with Manawa Honey – to create a business that our young people can look up to as it gains success on an international stage.
Manawa Honey NZ is based in Ruatāhuna, New Zealand and specialises in producing exquisite native honeys from Te Urewera – homeland of the tribe Tūhoe. Their range of honeys includes Rewarewa, Mānuka, Tāwari and Pua-ā-Tāne. Available in Countdown Supermarkets. Also exporting to UK, China and other countries.
