The History Of NZ Manuka Honey: What Makes Manuka Honey Special?

EDUCATION

10 minutes

Essential Takeaways

Manuka honey's story begins in 1839 when honey bees were first brought to New Zealand, where the native mānuka plant was already treasured by Māori people for its medicinal properties.

What makes Manuka honey special is its high concentrations of methylglyoxal (MGO), which creates powerful antibacterial effects up to 100 times stronger than other honey varieties.

Unlike regular honey, Manuka honey contains stable non-peroxide antibacterial activity, discovered by scientist Peter Molan in the 1980s.

Scientific research has validated Manuka honey's special properties for treating wounds, infections, and supporting wellness (among many other uses), making it a valuable natural therapeutic option.

New Zealand Manuka honey's authenticity is protected by strict government regulations and the UMF™ grading system, ensuring consumers get a genuine product with verified levels of beneficial compounds.

Come on a journey with us.

Many people wonder what makes Manuka honey so special. The answer lies in its unique origins...

It begins on a ship sailing from England to Hokianga, New Zealand (Aotearoa), in 1839.

Aboard the ship, amongst their cargo, missionaries stowed beehives that were brought for pollinating crops and food sources. And for honey of course, but not Manuka - at least, not intentionally. And not yet.

The story of Manuka honey is one of a union between two natural resources, loved and used for similar things on different sides of the world for centuries.

So how did Manuka and honey come together? What makes Manuka honey special? And why has it become such a household name?

In this exploration of Manuka honey's history and what makes it so special, we’ll cover:

The history of honey in New Zealand
What makes Manuka honey special
The science behind Manuka honey's properties
Why New Zealand's Manuka honey stands alone
Why this honey may be pricier
Making sense of UMF™
Where to learn more and get your authentic Manuka honey

The history of honey in New Zealand

It was the brave missionary crew that sailed across the sea from England to New Zealand with its first honey bees in 1839.

Why brave? It seems somewhat courageous to travel for months on a ship with two beehives in tow!

Whilst NZ had native bee species, they were not honey producers. But the native bush proved fruitful for the British bees and soon, wild colonies thrived.

The country’s first beekeepers were primarily Māori, with the first commercial production of honey beginning around 1870. It was only around 60 years later that the Ward family started beekeeping, and that’s where our story begins.

The same beekeeping techniques and equipment that were used then are still commonly used today, including the Langstroth hive, with its slidable frames for easy access and minimal disruption to the colony:

A Langstroth hive, patented by Lorenzo Langstroth in 1852. Source: The Beehive Journal.

Since setting up the first hives in New Zealand on the North Island’s east coast, where there is an abundance of mānuka, it’s quite possible that the first honey consumed in NZ was Manuka honey.

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Mānuka: New Zealand’s sacred treasure

Widely used for its believed medicinal properties, Mānuka was referred to by the Māori people of New Zealand as taonga, or treasure.

“Infusions made with the leaves were used to reduce fevers and treat stomach and urinary problems.

Gum produced from the tree was used as a moisturiser for burns, and to ease coughing.

Decoctions from the bark were used as a sedative, a mouthwash, and to treat diarrhoea and fever. The tree was essentially a pharmacy.”

- NZ Story.

The British colonists soon caught onto these uses too, and started to experiment with the mānuka plant themselves:

“On Captain Cook’s voyages of discovery around New Zealand, his crew boiled the leaves of mānuka to make tea. Cook also brewed a beer using mānuka and rimu leaves and found it: “exceedingly palatable and esteemed by everyone on board.”

The wood of mānuka has been extensively used by New Zealanders as it is hard and straight-grained."

- NZ Story.

It’s easy to see, given mānuka’s broad uses and cultural significance, why honey made from mānuka nectar was appealing, and piqued curiosity.

Despite the honey being used so widely so early on, its chemistry wasn’t studied and tested for antibacterial properties until the late 1980s by Peter Molan, at the University of Waikato.

And his findings were the beginning of a new era for Manuka honey.

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What makes Manuka honey special?

Honey has been treasured for its beneficial properties since ancient times.

The first written reference dates back to 2100-2000 BC, when a Sumerian tablet recorded its use as a medicine. Aristotle (384-322) reportedly said that it’s “good as a salve for sore eyes and wounds”, and Cleopatra is known to have used it in her beauty regime.

Today, we understand the science behind honey's natural properties. But one variety stands out above all others: New Zealand Manuka honey.

What makes Manuka honey truly special is a unique combination of factors. Its remarkable non-peroxide antibacterial activity comes from high levels of methylglyoxal (MGO), making it different from regular honey.

This special honey is harvested from pristine, rural and remote areas of New Zealand, where the native mānuka plant grows wild.

Here are some of the most popular uses for Manuka honey:

As a skincare and haircare ingredient (for things like body butter, face masks, eczema treatments, and acne remedies).
Supporting wound care, reducing scarring, and recovering from burns.
Helping with stomach problems like gastric reflux.
Addressing colds, sore throats, strep throat, and asthma.
Supporting healthy oral care and addressing canker sores.
As a natural sweetener alternative, which is also valuable for helping people to manage their diabetes.
To boost libido, support a healthy sex life, and help with the symptoms of menopause.
And much more...

With so many unique benefits, it's no wonder that there are plenty of fake and adulterated Manuka honey products for sale.

To protect its reputation against imposters, New Zealand has implemented the world's strictest testing and grading systems, including the UMF™ standard and rigorous government regulations.

Let's explore the science behind Manuka honey's special properties and discover why it has captured the attention of researchers worldwide...

The science behind Manuka honey's properties

Dr. Peter Molan started investigating Manuka honey in the 1980s, when he published a paper that described how its non-peroxide antibacterial activity (NPA) was potentially more effective than the unstable bioactivity found in other honeys.

His initial research suggested that Manuka honey may be providing antibacterial properties through a different mechanism. The studies that followed were inconclusive until a paper in 2006 uncovered a compound called methylglyoxal (MGO) that was responsible for the non-peroxide activity which made Manuka honey stand out.

It did indeed, appear to be unique. Perhaps even special.

Why New Zealand's Manuka Honey Stands Alone

Geography, it seems, plays a large role in the chemistry of honey:

“Molan and Cooper reported that the difference in antimicrobial potency among the different honeys can be more than 100-fold, depending on its geographical, seasonal and botanical source as well as harvesting, processing and storage conditions.”

- Honey: its medicinal property and antibacterial activity, a scientific review.

But much of the scientific focus has been on Manuka honey specifically from New Zealand:

“Although some honey varieties have been shown to have beneficial effects in a wound site, most modern research has focused on a particular variety produced in New Zealand from the nectar of the Leptospermum Scoparium shrub, called Manuka honey.”

- Honey-based templates in wound healing and tissue engineering, a scientific review.

And so, whilst Leptospermum Scoparium is grown in some other places around the world, the New Zealand plants have featured in a lot of the research into the antibacterial properties that have made the honey a household name.

“A number of studies analysing the antibacterial activities of New Zealand honeys have been completed. Whilst many honey types contained significant levels of antibacterial activity due to enzyme-produced hydrogen peroxide, only L. scoparium (Manuka) honey often contained a relatively high level of non-peroxide activity (Molan et al. 1988; Allen et al. 1991).”

- Leptospermum scoparium in New Zealand, a review.

But New Zealand Manuka honey isn’t an easy thing to produce. And this, along with its perceived health and wellness benefits, are the reason for the (typically) higher price tag.

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What makes New Zealand Manuka honey pricier?

While the mānuka plant is found throughout the length of New Zealand and at most altitudes, it fares particularly well on dry erosion-prone hilly slopes, which is where it's often planted and found.

As a seral species, mānuka helps to nurture the soil and plants around it, and grows particularly well in less reachable locations that aren’t suited to primary agricultural activity.

But less reachable locations can make it more difficult and costly to get to.

Helicopters are often required to reach the areas required by beekeepers, which, as you can imagine, is not a cheap exercise.

Whilst Manuka plants are rather robust and can withstand more extreme environments, their flowering period usually only lasts for 2 - 8 weeks of the year, typically around the spring and summer (this varies by region).

This can be irregular, however, adding yet another layer of complexity to honey production.

And we haven’t even mentioned the bees yet!

The Manuka plants may survive difficult weather, but these sketchy conditions don’t help our stripey little workers do their job.

So as you can see, producing monofloral Manuka honey (honey made primarily from the nectar of mānuka plants) takes the synergy of numerous factors, most of which are out of our control.

Read more: Why is Manuka honey expensive?

With its higher demand and restrictive harvest conditions, prices are naturally a little higher than your typical supermarket honey.

But with that status comes a dark side: the temptation for forgery.

As a result, Manuka honey is required to pass stringent tests set by the New Zealand government, which are enforced by the Ministry for Primary Industries.

These are in place to ensure authenticity by looking for the five key attributes of genuine multi- or monofloral Manuka honey:

Source: The Ministry for Primary Industries.

Making sense of UMF™

UMF™ gradings are unique to Manuka honey from New Zealand.

Offered by the Unique Mānuka Factor Honey Association (UMFHA), UMF™ is a rigorous certification programme designed to give consumers the confidence that what they're buying is genuine and effective.

For a jar of honey to be awarded a UMF™ grading, it needs to meet strict conditions, such as:

That the honey is produced by an approved company licensed by the UMFHA, and each batch is independently tested to ensure they're meeting UMF™ standards.
That what's in the jar is genuine monofloral Manuka honey produced, packaged, and labelled in New Zealand.
That the honey contains suitable levels of specific biomarkers set out by the NZ government (such as methylglyoxal/MGO, dihydroxyacetone and mānuka pollen).
That the honey has at least the minimum concentration of MGO required to get the UMF™ number rating (e.g.: for a UMF™ 10+ grade, the honey needs to contain at least 263mg/kg of MGO).

Read more: Decoding UMF™

A jar of Manuka honey with a UMF™ grading has not only met the authenticity standards set by the New Zealand government for authenticity, but it has also been tested to measure its quality and potency.

UMF™ gradings help us to understand exactly how much of the key compounds associated with antibacterial activity are present in each jar of honey.

Higher UMF™ numbers mean stronger concentrations of MGO and, therefore, more powerful health properties. For example, a jar of UMF™ 28+ Manuka honey will be more potent than a jar of UMF™ 10+.

Note: most of our Manuka honeys are UMF™ graded. Learn about our certifications here