Why is Mānuka so Expensive?

We get asked all the time why is Mānuka Honey so expensive? We get it, not all things expensive are truly worth the money.

But when it comes to purchasing genuine Mānuka Honey there are many good reasons to explain why Mānuka honey is so expensive. So we have broken it down to three main causes to why Mānuka is more pricey then regular honeys:

The Mānuka is Native to New Zealand and is only in flower for 2-3 months a year. Which means the time frame to actually produce Mānuka Honey is very short. 

Honey is a natural product. For the most part, Mother Nature runs the show. That means the people who produce it (like yours truly, for example) are both grateful for and at the mercy of her natural forces. Weather good and bad during the short few weeks that the Mānuka tree is in flower can affect our yield for the entire year.  

And because the Mānuka bush flowers for such a short time of the year only a small amount of Mānuka honey is actually produced yearly compared to other honeys.

Not only is Manuka honey difficult to harvest, often to get Monofloral Mānuka Honey our hives have to be helicoptered into remote places around New Zealand where there are large qualities dense Mānuka bush. 

Remember worker bees can travel up to 8km from the hive, so to get monofloral Mānuka Honey we must make sure that our bees are surrounded by a plentiful of New Zealand Mānuka bush so that they are almost exclusively collect nectar and pollinating the Mānuka bush. 

There is no hiding that real Mānuka Honey with all the benefits is expensive! Unfortunately with anything expensive on the market, people try to mimic it and cheat the product.

To assure you that we are providing you with all the benefits of authentic Mānuka Honey we use the UMF testing and grading process. Which means we send every batch of our Mānuka Honey for independent testing, to ensure it meets both our own and UMF’s standards for purity and quality.

This testing and researching process means you can trust that we are providing you the real deal - an internationally valued UMF® graded honey.

In a lab our Mānuka Honey will be tested for all three signature UMF® compounds: Leptosperin, DHA and Methylglyoxal (MGO) - Learn more about UMF here!

Generally UMF Mānuka Honey that costs less has less potency and is of a lower grade. 

At large, Multi-floral Mānuka Honey is less expensive as it does not contain the same levels of MGO as Mono-floral Mānuka Honey (UMF rated honey).

We use our happiness scale as an easy guide to explain the benefits of Mānuka Honey: 

UMF 5+ & 10+ for Everyday Happiness

Ideal on your wallet for daily use and extra bit of happiness everyday in your food or drinks.

UMF 15+ For Targeted Happiness

UMF 15+ contains higher MGO levels ideal for topical usages such as DIY beauty treatments. For more targeted happiness consumed these in cooking and beverages to help support general health and wellness.

UMF 20+ For Boosted Happiness

Our highest UMF rated honey for a full boost of happiness. With almost 10x the amount of MGO found in UMF 5+, UMF 20+ is packed full of benefits.  Treating infections, protecting against pathogens and immunity support are just a few of the ways our customers have told us they use UMF 20+ Mānuka honey - find more UMF 20+ reviews here!