Apitrak chief executive Hayden Stowell.
A New Zealand company has spent seven years developing unique software that will safeguard the more than 800,000 hives in New Zealand, and satisfy overseas market access requirements.
ApiTrak, which launches this month, allows everyone - from hobbyists with 10 hives, to corporates with more than 10,000 - to easily track and verify their product throughout the supply chain.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer Hayden Stowell said ApiTrak maintains the confidence of overseas consumers and regulators in the integrity of New Zealand manuka honey by ring-fencing the industry to easily identify stolen or adulterated product, and provide consumers with clear traceability.
"Consumers worldwide are increasingly seeking assurances that everything they eat is safe and can be reliably traced back to its point of origin. They want to be able to connect with where their honey is from," said Mr Stowell.
The software can be used at every step of the supply chain and its advanced authentication system verifies product and captures all critical tracking events. The cloud-based GS1 compliant system allows users to track honey throughout the supply chain,using small near field communication tags which are attached to hives, drums and jars.
Stowell said it complements existing systems and is managed through a web-based platform and proprietary smart phone apps.
The surge in beekeeping over the past five years has created an increased need to safeguard the valuable honey industry.
"By June last year there were estimated to be almost 700,000 beehives. This has grown by at least 100,000 since - our industry is in fast growth. The high market demand for manuka honey in particular is driving an increase in hive numbers.
And with larger numbers entering the industry, there are more pressures on land use, and an increased need to ensure hives are correctly sited and that honey can be securely tracked from beehive through to shelf."
ApiTrak Chief Technology Officer Duncan Williamson said the platform goes well beyond the hive management-only systems offered by some other providers.
"ApiTrak can be integrated with existing hive management systems, providing a bolt-on service to the many platforms that lack our food safety compliance functionality. Our long-term aim is to help create a fully connected industry with robust traceability and food security."
Sean Goodwin, Chief Executive of 100% Pure New Zealand Honey, and a member of ApiTrak's advisory board, said the team had put in a great deal of effort to engage industry participants and ensure they not only created an innovative system, but one that would be widely used.
"The key to ApiTrak is the integrated, end-to-end nature of the system, which provides benefits for every user," he said.
Mr Goodwin, deputy chair of both Apiculture New Zealand and GS1 NZ has insight into requirements of industry and international standards, said ApiTrak had significant potential on the global stage.
Jamie Te Hiwi, Customer Manager in New Zealand Trade & Enterprise's Maori Business Team, said global consumers demanded the highest standards of food safety throughout the supply chain.
"We also know the risk we run if the consumer loses trust in our ability to control the safety of their food. To earn more from the food we export, solutions like ApiTrak will help attract premium price from consumers willing to buy intangible attributes like food safety, country of origin labelling, and traceability."
Stowell, who has been involved in the manuka honey industry since the early 2000s, founded the Honey Network honey auction site, and is a member of the Maori Honey Working Group.
Victor Goldsmith, General Manager of Ngati Porou Miere Limited Partnership, who is also on ApiTrak's advisory board, said the partnership owned 1000 hives on its own land blocks and would continue to increase the numbers.
"We need to give our customers assurance that what they are buying is authentic and we will be able to demonstrate this with ApiTrak."