Unlike a lot of food companies that start with the goal of conquering the local NZ market, Zealandia Honey was born out of international demand for premium, native New Zealand honey. Co-founders Sri Govindaraju, Sunil Pinnamaneni and Robin de Gues are passionate about honey and believe that people can benefit not only from Mānuka honey but other types of New Zealand native honeys because of their high antioxidant and polyphenol content.
Zealandia don’t make their own honey. Instead, they collaborate with beekeepers across New Zealand, most of whom have been beekeeping for generations. Zealandia then tests all the honey at their ISO17025 certified laboratories where they test the quality, potency, authenticity and purity of the honey.
“In the right conditions, honey can be matured like a whiskey or a fine wine. The amount of methylglyoxal (MGO) in the honey will increase. However, there are about 50 different variables that must all be exactly right, honey with a high MGO count is rarely harvested”, says Sunil.
When Zealandia Honey was offered a high MGO honey for sale, they jumped at the chance. They then bottled this honey and created a batch of 120 bespoke jars, selling each for $3100.
On the episode we talk about their high growth journey. Specifically, we talk about:
- Creating a product that’s primarily targeted to export markets
- What makes Manuka honey special
- Identifying a great honey – UMF or MGO?
- Why is honey testing important?
- Is there a market for a $3000 jar of honey?
Listen to the Podcast Here:
