Ko Whakakoro te maunga moana
Ko Rangiputa te maunga whenua
Ko Awaroa te awa
Ko Tinana te waka
Ko Kaha te tangata
Ko Te Rarawa te iwi
Ko Ngati Haua te hapu
Ko Te Kotahitanga te marae
No Whangape ahau
Ko Rapata Mare taku ingoa
Tai Tokerau Honey Ltd is a 100% Maori owned and operated beekeeping company, specialising in the production of the famous Mānuka Honey. They are located in Kaitaia, in the beautiful Far North of Aotearoa and this region is also known as Te Taitokerau. After forming the company in 2009, Rob and Lonnie Murray spent years of focusing on producing high quality Mānuka honey and strengthening their beekeeping practices before attempting to target the global market with our their brand.
They currently run approximately 3000 hives, and while based in Kaitaia, in the beautiful Far North of New Zealand, over the summer months when it is the honey-making season, they chase the Mānuka flower all over the North Island! In past years, Tai Tokerau Honey have managed hives as far south as Taranaki across the Central Plateau, out to East Cape, and many places in between. They also have our very own Extraction and Processing plants - so you are guaranteed an authentic product from their hives to your hands.
Tai Tokerau Honey has a strong tikanga (values, beliefs) that guides their daily operations and interactions. Their tikanga incorporates the way Māori see the world, and is based on the knowledge of their ancestors that has been passed down from generation to generation. They take great pride in maintaining healthy, happy bees, and beekeepers, who do not always wear gloves, handling the hives with the care and respect they deserve.
This concept of sustainability is built into the foundation of their company, and is reflected in their everyday practices and interactions, as well as long-term goals.
The honey industry, more precisely the Mānuka honey industry, is one area they believe Māori can benefit and excel in, with much of the undeveloped, Māori-owned land currently covered in Mānuka bush. Having been on this whenua land for thousands of years, the people of Tai Tokerau Honey would like to ensure that Māori people are here for thousands more, with the land and its resources intact.
Tai Tokerau Honey always try to work closely with iwi, whenua/land trusts and all landowners throughout the country, with the goal of creating a productive and sustainable industry; an industry that effectively utilises the many land resources previously left undeveloped and neglected; an industry that provides local employment and supports local service; an industry where all benefit.
In July 2016 Tai Tokerau Honey moved into their own food-grade factory and office premises in Kaitaia. In December 2016 they had an extraction plant installed and did their first season extracting their own honey. In May 2017 their processing and packing plant went in and they can now proudly say they are in charge of their own product from their hives right through to your hands!
More information can be found Facebook, @taitokerauhoney, and at www.taitokerauhoney.co.nz