TranzAlpineHoney
Licensee 450
TranzAlpineHoney has been a family business since 1910, producing delicious organic honey in remote locations on the South Island of New Zealand and exporting into 26 countries across 5 continents. Within 5 generations the Robins and Newton families had sparked the bee keeping passion and raised 12 commercial beekeepers in New Zealand.
Their mission is to provide the highest quality organic honey products with friendly, personal service to suit the needs of consumers worldwide. Right from the beginning they learned to keep their honey production as natural as possible.
“Organic is more than just producing honey without chemicals. It’s making sure that our honey is produced in a sustainable and eco-friendly way, being able to trace exactly where our bees have been, and what they might’ve met along the way”
The culture around organic produce has changed in the last 5-6 years and the organic market is growing rapidly. This has been an eye opener for TranzAlpineHoney – as their local market has grown from 5% just 5 years ago up to 25% today.
“We have some customers who are surprised to see organic honey and curious to try and taste the difference. Some customers want to learn more about organic compliance and the difference between what we do and how we do. What we definitely see is a huge interest which is growing around the world in the organic sector”
In 2018 TranzAlpineHoney celebrated 25 years of being certified organic with BioGro NZ. They’ve been living and breathing the organic philosophy for over 100 years with their hives so remote, it’s a great Kiwi adventure just reaching them, so there’s nothing ‘nasty’ anywhere nearby.
Their decision to be certified organic was to allow consumers around the world to make a knowledgeable decision when it comes to choosing their honey – for them to see a difference and trust that their honey is not just made organically but certified against relevant Standards by a well-known certifier.
“Not only does this certification mean that our organic honey has no traces of sprays or synthetic chemicals, but it also means that our honey can be traced back to our individual hives that are scattered throughout Canterbury and remote areas surrounding the Westcoast of South Island New Zealand.”
Certification is a rigorous process. They recognise that there will always be challenges but there are always ways to resolve them. The requirements are not always understood, especially when there are new product developments but this is something the certification team is committed to helping their customers through.
“BioGro has a team of professionals who are always here to answer all our queries, guide us through new products certification and help us to stay compliant via the auditing process.”
Organic for TranzAlpineHoney is not just a way they live and work, it is also the way they look after their bees and produce their honey. Organic certification makes their honey different from any conventional alternatives produced in New Zealand. Point of difference is very important when it comes to exporting from the little country into the big world.
“Organic certification helps our customers to be confident when it comes to choosing our products. When consumers see the BioGro logo on our products they know that the product has been audited and certified by the accredited certification agency”