National Honey Week is Born

Media Release

National Honey Week is Born – Kiwis Urged to Support New Zealand’s Sweetest Natural Resource

National Honey Week will take place for the first time this year from 25 November – 2 December to raise awareness and support of New Zealand’s sweetest natural resource and to encourage more Kiwis to include it in their diets. Led by Airborne Honey, the country’s oldest brand, a number of promotions and initiatives have been planned to help consumers take part in the celebrations.

Each year, a different hero honey will be highlighted. Manuka is this year’s star.

Geoff Scott, leading New Zealand chef and owner of iconic Auckland restaurant, Vinnie’s, has volunteered to be the first National Honey Week ambassador. Geoff will be creating a number of one-off recipes to show New Zealand honey at its best.

“Honey is one of the purest, most naturally delicious ingredients you can buy and New Zealand is renowned for producing an exceptional range of flavours, textures and floral varieties,” says Geoff. “I use it regularly in my own cooking so it made sense to support a campaign that celebrates it. I think a lot of Kiwis like the taste of honey but might be unsure about how to use it beyond slathering it on toast. Hopefully, we can share some tips, change a few perceptions and encourage more people to use New Zealand honey.”

New Zealand honey has suffered a few knocks in international media recently. A tainted reputation has the potential to threaten the industry, which currently exports 6,000 tonnes of honey per year, valued at around $81million.

“A few quality concerns have been raised, particularly around Manuka honey, which has a lot to do with fraudulent activity overseas,” explains Peter Bray, Managing Director of Airborne Honey. “Because of this, it’s more important than ever that Kiwis get behind New Zealand honey. We hope that as many consumers support National Honey Week as possible, as well as other honey producers and beekeepers. New Zealand honey is
a national natural treasure and something we should all be proud of.”

New Zealanders will be encouraged to take part in National Honey Week through a series of contests and giveaways on Facebook and Twitter. On top of that, New Zealand food bloggers will be able to enter their honey themed recipes into a “Cook Something Yummy with Honey” competition during National Honey Week. Among a host of other prizes, the winner will receive a behind the scenes experience at Vinnie’s and a luxurious meal for two.

There are a number of delicious ways to incorporate New Zealand Manuka honey into daily life. So why not start now!

1. Honey is much sweeter than table sugar. Substitute your daily teaspoon of sugar for a drizzle of Manuka honey in your cup of tea in the morning.
2. Honey isn’t just for toast! Use Manuka honey in savoury dishes and marinades. The rich, malty tones make it perfect for stir-fries.
3. Honey can help counter the effects of the 'morning after'. A simple hangover remedy can be made quickly and easily by blending 15ml orange juice, 150ml natural yogurt and 2tbsp honey.
4. Make sure your honey is the real deal and good quality by checking the label. Look for the pollen percentage (a high percentage means the honey is true to type – Manuka should contain at least 70% Manuka pollen), HMF number (lower the better, HMF numbers below 10 are best as a high number means the honey is heat damaged) and place of origin.

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