Derek Burchell-Burger, Naki NZ global market manager. Photo / Supplied
Derek Burchell-Burger, Naki NZ global market manager. Photo / Supplied
The medicinal powers of manuka - used by Māori for centuries for varying ailments - is growing popular and scientists around the globe are looking to fuse their botanical medicines with Māori-based remedies.
Derek Burchell-Burger, Naki's NZ global market manager for mānuka honey, is traveling Europe promoting the brand.
"I was approached by a Belgian medicinal product developer in Europe to talk about a possible collaboration with their oils," Burchell-Burger said.
"He was very excited to talk about potentially combining a traditional Māori remedy with European botanical oils.
"I also met with a Romanian scientist who enquired about taking our manuka and its health benefits and doing more research with their own materials in Romania. It is very interesting times for mānuka honey."
But the big win for Naki and mānuka honey has been the free trade agreement with the United Kingdom, and the dropping of the European Union tariff.
Burchell-Burger said Naki's NZ sales had increased by 15 per cent since July and wouldn't be surprised if they doubled in 2024.
"The impact of removing a 17.3 per cent tariff on NZ-sourced honey in July, under a new European Union-New Zealand free trade agreement, is now translating into increasing sales volumes," Burchell-Burger said.
Naki is growing its exports of mānuka honey to Europe. Photo / Supplied
NZ honey sales to the EU have risen dramatically in recent years, driven by growing interest from German consumers for Kiwi mānuka blends. Sales to Europe reached $60 million last year, around 12 per cent of the $500m export market.
Burchell-Burger said premium mānuka honey retails for up to $800 per kg in Europe and the pandemic has helped boost consumer interest in the wellness features of the product.
"What we know is that consumer confidence has been heavily impacted by the Ukraine war, however a kilo of mānuka honey can be landed in Europe for 27 per cent less than a year ago.
"At the same time there is growing international recognition of the benefits of mānuka honey and local harvest volumes are up substantially, allowing us to increase our inventory to over 300 tonnes this season.
"The falling dollar is helping us to secure new wholesale accounts throughout the EU and offset the impact of war and inflation on spending in that market.
"As a result, our exports are growing at a time when luxury goods are heavily exposed to falling levels of disposable income," he says.
Burchell-Burger says they are looking to France as the next untapped market for mānuka honey.
Honey from mānuka is highly prized. Photo / Supplied
He says they have been able to increase sales to a number of European countries including Germany, Czech Republic and the Netherlands recently.
"While Germany is the largest EU importer of honey from non-EU countries, France is a close second with almost $1 billion of the product consumed annually.
"We are currently in talks with a number of distribution partners in this market as we look to expand our retail presence and increase access for French consumers to mānuka honey," he says.
Burchell-Burger says their distribution model in European markets operates differently to those in Asia where they tend to use established distribution partners with local networks.
He says in countries like Germany, France, Austria, Netherlands and Sweden the product is more likely to be sold through pharmacies, supermarket and naturopathic practitioner channels - necessitating the development of relationships at retail level.
"Even prior to the pandemic we saw that European consumers had a high awareness of the medicinal aspects of mānuka honey.
"This understanding of the product has grown noticeably over the past couple of years and consumers will ask detailed questions about the anti-viral and antibacterial methylglyoxal levels and its ability to trigger an immune response.
"As a result, Europeans are looking for the more efficacious, higher grade of honey than we would see with Chinese consumers," he says.
Burchell-Burger says over 99 per cent of their honey production is exported with a small number of retailers in Queenstown providing access to the product for international visitors.
