Original staff members Rod Walker (left), Steve Tollestrup (crouching), Paul Romley and Rita Whyle with founder Alan Bougen and the lifesize photograph of Claude Stratford.
Original staff members Rod Walker (left), Steve Tollestrup (crouching), Paul Romley and Rita Whyle with founder Alan Bougen and the lifesize photograph of Claude Stratford.
Comvita has been an integral part of Paengaroa for five decades.
The company recently celebrated its 50th anniversary with an open day at its headquarters, bringing together a wide range of guests including Comvita alumni, long-standing partners, shareholders, local community, iwi representatives and key stakeholders fromthe business, science, and apiculture sectors.
The duo were an unlikely pairing – Bougen was 25, Stratford 65 when they met – but they were kindred spirits, sharing a deep interest in health, nutrition and bees.
Bougen had discovered clean living, sustainable lifestyles, transcendental meditation and the growing natural food movement while travelling in the 1970s.
He walked into his first health food store in the US in 1971 and saw a jar of raw honey.
“It was real honey. Untouched. That raw, golden goodness – completely unprocessed. I thought, ‘This is the perfect food’.”
Moving to Aotea Great Barrier Island, Bougen sought help from Les Blackwell, the island’s go-to, multi-generation beekeeper, who taught him how to re-queen the hives, introduced him to mānuka honey harvesting and taught him to use a kauri press to work the dense honey out of the comb.
“Over the next few years, I learned the rhythms of the hive. Eventually, we got a smoker and veils – ordered by phone, delivered by barge. That’s how remote we were.”
During those three years on the island, bees became not just a food source, but a philosophy.
But it was the use of honey-based product to heal an infected wound on a horse that was to shape his destiny.
“That blew my mind. It opened up a whole new world, using honey not just for nutrition, but for healing.”
Writing to the PO Box on the packaging, he quickly got a reply from Stratford: “Dear Alan, you could be an answer to prayer. Come quickly.”
Alan Bougen speaks at the 50th anniversary celebration. Photo / Isabella Cheadle
Stratford was a herbalist and lifelong beekeeper. He had moved to Paengaroa to retire and live on a one-acre (0.4ha) property.
He had a small, yet growing following and decades of experience – he had been keeping bees and selling honey since he was 11, had been one of the first beekeepers to pollinate kiwifruit, had once grown comfrey at scale to make creams for Hiroshima survivors in Japan, and had recovered from a serious personal health crisis through nutrition and apitherapy.
Bougen had youthful energy, eager curiosity, and a growing knowledge of bees and together, they dreamed up a vision of a company rooted in nature, healing and purpose. Bougen borrowed a small amount of money from his parents and, together with Stratford, founded Comvita.
At the 50th anniversary celebrations, Bougen said it had been an “incredible journey so far – rich, exciting, challenging, fun, risky, satisfying and certainly long”.
“From such small, humble beginnings, we’ve built a strong, beautiful New Zealand brand on full display these days in some of the finest retail sites around the world.”
Of his business partner, he said: “Despite life’s many trials, Claude never lost his generosity, his optimism, his unwavering belief in the healing power of nature and his faith in God. Purpose kept him moving, even when the path ahead was tough.”
Stratford was just shy of his 103rd birthday when he died in 2013.
“His influence runs through every chapter of Comvita’s story and continues to inspire us today.”
Bougen recalled that life at Comvita in the late 1970s and early 1980s was colourful, exciting and sometimes just plain crazy.
“People had begun to join our cause. Other hippy types, a couple of locals and a few graduates from the newly formed South Pacific College of Naturopathy who were keen for opportunities to put their training into action.
As for the future, Bougen said he envisaged his great-grandchildren hiking through the vast native forests Comvita had played a part in establishing.
“I see a continuation of the steadily growing demand for high-quality natural products with proven health benefits.
“Each generation will become more passionate about the importance of nature and her healing powers.
“I see a future where honeybees are cherished right across the world because of their incredible role in our human food chain, and I hope for a future where companies are judged not just by profits, but by the contribution they make to people and planet Earth.”
He said he is quietly confident that Comvita’s story will continue with the same values – courage, curiosity and care.
