Honey and Bees New Zealand’s (HBNZ) first five weeks of existence have proven active, with a new seven-person board room and chairperson now at the helm overseeing a back-to-basics management team. They have signalled an early win too, with the announcement of plans for a July 15-16 conference in Napier in 2027.

The Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ) has notified Mānuka Charitable Trust that its mānuka trademark design “is likely to offend Māori” because it resembles a moko kauae — the traditional Māori tattoo worn by women on their chin.

It’s been in the wings for at least five months as the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has worked behind the scenes meeting with various beekeeping industry groups and stakeholders, and on September 10 the “New Zealand Honey and Bee Alliance” will take flight with an inaugural hui in Wellington.

Comvita returned to profitability in the year to June through volume growth in mānuka shipments to the US and rigorous cost cutting. Chief executive officer Karl Gradon has deferred issuing earnings guidance and confirmed that Comvita will not pay a dividend for the current year.

Egmont Honey chief executive James Annabell has returned from a recent sales trip to the UAE and Europe buoyed by continuing strong demand for mānuka honey, but with a warning for the New Zealand honey industry that there are signals another boom-bust cycle could be approaching.

Passionate kānuka honey advocate Sri Govindaraju attended the inaugural Kānuka Industry Hui, hosted by the Kānuka Charitable Trust (KCT), August 17-18 in Rotorua. She reflects on what was discussed, the great opportunity facing kānuka honey and oil, plus the collective action which will be required to realise the native plant’s potential.

While much of New Zealand's beekeeping industry has spent recent years tightening belts and riding out uncertainty, Marlborough-Tasman beekeepers Matt and Sarah Goldsworthy have been doing the opposite – they’ve expanded, backing themselves and the industry all the way.

Trying to decide on the best honey testing lab to support your business? Hill Labs explains how their expertise and customer service leads the way in the honey industry, built on a proud foundation of Kiwi, family ownership and management.

Worried by recent controversial, and catastrophic, failures of the public service, former top bureaucrat Ian Fletcher analyses the occurrences, sets out the lessons that need to be learned, and identifies what could be done if we want to achieve greater accountability from our leaders.

What do spring rounds look like in the Bay of Plenty? Aimz reports in as she begins her third full season wielding the hive tool in the family business.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has sounded the death knell over New Zealand’s second attempt to secure a mānuka certification trademark in New Zealand’s largest honey market.

New commercial-beekeeping industry group Honey and Bees New Zealand (H&BNZ) has an inaugural board and chairperson, Murray Bush, who says the serious business of rebuilding trust among beekeepers begins now. Beekeepers must return that trust though he emphasises, and support he group if it is to hold any weight and survive.