Wilderness Valley is situated in the heart of King Country, collecting honey from hives kept on Ruatiti Station and the 5,000 acres of paradise that they call home. The team spoke to Laura Grieg about her business.
What is your company background, how did you start the business?
“We at Wilderness Valley are a family owned and operated boutique honey company, producing quality UMF® (Unique Manuka Factor) Manuka Honey from our remote hill country station in the Central North Island. Our sustainable business practices encompass all accepts of the trade from beekeeping, extraction, right through to bottling our very own branded jars of golden liquid.”
What is the current product range and variants and how do these products stand out in the market?
“Our UMF®15+ Manuka Honey is a strong honey with a wonderful thick creamy texture. It has a savoury flavour with an underlying sweetness offset by a spectacular soothing quality. Our UMF®10+ has a sterdy flavour with herbaceous undertones followd by a sweet yet light caramel finish, brillant for every day use e.g. perfect to add to a winter warming lemon and ginger drink. Our UMF®8+ has a sweeter taste yet has earthy undertones that make up delightfully creamy honey. This would be lovely added to your morning smoothie or to add to your baking e.g. making muesli or banana bread. Our point of difference is that we truly get our honey from our land as well as process it all our selves, this means that we know exactly where the honey comes from and consumers can really response to this.”
Has there been any recent company news?
“We have a new staff member, which is very exciting as before that it was just Jason and I. Steph is very passionate about her work as a beekeeper and is always up for whatever is thrown at her! We are have just brought out a Manuka Blend honey, this has a lovely toffee colour with a caramel yet woody like flavour that linger on your taste buds. This blend is brilliant with baked stone fruit or to sweeten your favourite tea.”
What are the plans for the business moving forward, is there any expansion on the horizon?
“We are looking at various export markets and have a few in the pipeline, this is a very exciting time! We have a new beekeeping shed, and all our processing plant is complete so we are able to process decent volumes which is fantastic.”
Where are your products currently available to buy, and are you looking at or wanting to expand your availability?
“You can buy our products from our online store www.wildernessvalley.co.nz or contact Laura via email info@wildernessvalley or phone 02102520627. Retail stores include Phil Greig Strawberry Farm (Kumeu), Wise Cicada (Newmarket), Alfonso’s (Pukekohe) Silky Oak Chocolate (Napier) and The Herbal Dispensary (Raglan). We would love to speak with anyone that is interested in our product for sure!”
