Our honey
Mānuka honey
Sourced exclusively from the remotest corners of New Zealand’s North Island. This is a unique honey that is widely believed to have many health and medicinal attributes.
Mānuka is the most highly prized of all honey and is used daily in smoothies, kept in the medical cabinet and taken when sick.
Kānuka honey
Research is beginning to discover the benefits of using Kānuka honey to control cold sores and other skin-related bacterial issues.
While there is a considerable amount of work to be completed, initial trials and research all point to a future where Kānuka honey will be prized as much, if not more than Mānuka.
Kāmahi honey
Kāmahi honey has a smooth, soft texture followed by an intense full-bodied flavour likened to that of dark caramel. It is a sophisticated, elegant honey that we believe is highly underrated.
Rewarewa honey
Rewarewa honey has a deep amber colour, usually with a reddish tinge, and a rich, full-bodied subtle malty taste. It has the highest levels of peroxide-based antibiotic and anti-oxidant activity of the honey that has been measured and documented by Dr Peter Molan.
Learn more about New Zealand’s honey by watching our honey story video …
Authenticity & traceability
Our honey is all sourced from New Zealand’s lower North Island and can be traced back to site locations using our software based apiary management tool MyApiary.
This software management tool allows us to effortlessly track precisely what hives are placed where, when they were last visited and what work was completed.
QR codes are placed on all packed honey and can be scanned using a digital camera to discover where each batch of honey has originated from.
Once a QR code is scanned on a retail pack, boxed package or bulk drum the traceability information also provides access to that batch’ds lab test reports.
Every batch of honey created is tested to ensure it meets market requirements at an IANZ-accredited laboratory.
At our facility we have the ability to custom blend batches to meet our customer’s specific requirements and our specialist software BeeApp ensures that no matter how complicated the requirements we will have full traceability and results available in an instant.
Honey extraction & processing
We keep processing temperatures low, avoid fine filtration, touch the honey as little as possible and find innovative methods to improve quality.
Hunter-Reilly is the only New Zealand honey producer to use revolutionary ultra-high frequency technology to treat our honey without damaging the valuable attributes it contains.
We are capable of processing 300+ tonnes of honey per year in our custom-designed plant and have recently designed our own processing components and invested in new technology unavailable in the rest of New Zealand.
Ultrasonic technology
Ultrasonic processing is a non-thermal processing technology that has been used in the food industry for decades but has never been transferred to the honey industry.
The benefits are:
reduced HMF (heat damage)
better retention of diastase (freshness)
increased retention of aroma and flavour
de-activation of any residual yeasts (if present
reduction of crystals and crystal growth (crunchy honey)
Ultrasonic processing provides better honey than traditional commercial honey processing can produce.
Retail packed honey
We have the facilities to package 1,000 kg batch quantities of creamed or raw honey into retail packs including labelling, batch QR code traceability tracking. For larger retail quantities, we use one of three local packing facilities.
We have the ability to create bespoke labels for customers seeking this service .
Distribution & export
We are a registered export facility and have the capability to load containers on-site or via an approved freight forwarder.
Honey can be supplied in bulk using 300 kg steel drums or 1,400 kg IBC’s .
We have FDA registration and approved for export into the USA.