Honey firm's 995pc growth key to Deloitte Fast 50 award

Photo / Martin Sykes

A honey company has topped the list of New Zealand's fastest growing companies for the second year in a row.

Dunedin-based New Zealand Honey Co was last night named the winner of the Deloitte Fast 50 with revenue growth of 995 per cent between 2007 and 2009.

Last year's winner, Masterton-based Watson and Son, was also a honey company.

Deloitte spokesman Matt McKendry said the $100 million honey industry was still small but appeared to be benefiting from global demand for more natural products.

The New Zealand Honey Co was set up in 2005 and is owned by the beekeepers that manage its 14,000 hives.

McKendry said the business had done well out of expanding its range of products beyond the typical 250ml tub of honey into drinks as well as establishing its distribution in the United Kingdom.

Earlier this year the company signed a deal to sell its products through British health food retailer Holland and Barrett and supermarkets Waitrose and Morrisons via 1000 outlets.

McKendry said the value uplift for the honey industry was enormous - while a pottle of honey could sell for $40 a kilogram, if it was made into lip balms or cosmetics the value could be more than tripled.

But the industry has not been without its problems.

Last year's Fast 50 winner Watson and Son has been embroiled in a legal battle after the Active Manuka Honey Association carried out tests and decided the company's manuka honey did not meet minimum standard to hold the Unique Manuka Factor marketing label.

Watson and Co claims the move was a commercial conspiracy by the association and three companies with directors on its executive whom it competes with.

McKendry said the conflict within the industry was unfortunate but it was still a young industry and he expected the issues to be ironed out over time.

Meanwhile, McKendry said he had been surprised at the level of growth achieved by the Fast 50 companies despite the recession.

To make the list this year companies had to grow by more than 145 per cent in the last three years - down only 4 per cent on last year's minimum.

The top 10 companies had to achieve revenue growth of more than 416 per cent compared with 392 per cent last year.

McKendry said the companies did not appear to have done anything different to beat the recession.

"It's just people sticking to the basics."

The manufacturer section was won by Roadcraft, business services went to MedRecruit, technology, media and telecommunications was won by NextWindow and the mature business section went to Working In.

The Fast 50 index is based on revenue growth not profits and businesses are ranked by their growth over a three-year period. The minimum revenue requirement was $250,000 in the first year and $500,000 in the third year.