Jason and Amanda Prior, founders of Downunder Honey, have been working with the honey business since 2010.
Having worked within the corporate world, Prior's interest in honey was sparked through the few hives the pair had while living in Wellington. After returning to Manawatu, near where Prior was raised, the family-owned business Downunder Honey was established.
One of the newest and innovative products produced through the business is Honey Powder, a honey sweetener in powder form, allowing the delicious ingredient to be used in various versatile forms.
"It allows one to mix Honey into dry ingredients and achieve an even spread, so it's great for manufactured products where you may want to add a small percentage of Manuka and know that it doesn't clump into one area of the product," revealed Prior.
The unique product makes it appealing to consumers and retailers alike. Prior shared that the powder form is the solution for instances where liquid can be difficult to use.
"It is a great topping for deserts as being naturally hygroscopic. It will very quickly form a crunchy nougat finish."
Alongside their business, the Priors' created a Treesforbees Nursery initiative, providing a one-stop location for people to find plants that would attract and were suitable for pollinators and birds, however Prior shared that the success of the initiative has turned it into a business within its own right.
"Initially, this was to supply landowners we work with, but it has grown to quite a large business in its own right with us sending plants nationwide."
Downunder Honey farms honey through a double box hive system, which Prior elaborated meant bees are left with the honey collected over the spring. The family only takes away whatever surplus remains from the summer.
This method allows the beekeepers to minimise the amount of sucrose fed to the bees over winter. The bee colonies exhibit more perseverance and strength than commercially farmed honey, which has transitioned to single-box hive systems.
Prior shared that the company's Honey Powder was manufactured through a propriety vacuum process, in which moisture is sucked out of the honey, leaving only solids. In contrast, other companies use the freeze-drying method, previously described as challenging to achieve the same results.
"Honey is difficult to dry; freeze-drying requires freezing temperatures of minus 32 degrees Celsius."
The family-owned business treats the hives using organic methods, the apiary sizes used by Downunder Honey being significantly smaller, reducing the feed demand over the colder periods when fewer plants are flowering. The sustainability efforts extend towards Prior working with other landowners on planting bees and generally promoting the use of trees and shrubbery that attract and enrich the environment for bees and birds, enhancing the landscape by extension.
Prior revealed that crowding the supply chain has significantly impacted the honey industry. An oversupply of high-grade Manuka is a particular issue that has seen many beekeepers out of business.
"There has been an exodus of beekeepers over the last three years due to the downturn in Manuka prices. We are seeing signs of recovery now, based around fewer companies who are there for the long term.
Prior stated that New Zealand honey producers generate high-quality authentic honey that not every country has the same benefit of.
However, wet summers with fewer long warm days continue to make Honey yields complicated and variable, an aspect that will become more evident over time. The honey yield was 10 percent of the beekeepers' yield in the current season last year.
Although the industry will continue to face changes, the prior family have a passion for bees and honey that will stay strong.
"Bees are a fascinating insect, and the Honey industry is very dynamic with long summers spent outdoors in some great parts of the country."
Prior shared that the community and people they've met through their retail business and exportation have provided a tremendous dynamic and environment for Downunder Honey to thrive.
