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Mānuka honey is made by bees that pollenate Leptospermum scoparium, an unassuming shrub-like tree that grows in the wild throughout New Zealand.

Mānuka honey is made by bees that pollenate Leptospermum scoparium, an unassuming shrub-like tree that grows in the wild throughout New Zealand.

Photographer: Mark Graham/Bloomberg
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$3700-a-Jar Honey Is Hurting New Zealand Beekeepers

The industry is slumping after a wave of new entrants created a surplus of the manuka sweetener. Some New Zealand beekeepers are leaving the business.

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It sells for more than $3,700 a jar at Harrods in London, with the price pushed higher by the kind of superfood branding and celebrity endorsements that turn a simple kitchen staple into a luxury product. 

Demand for mānuka honey, which is produced by bees that pollenate New Zealand’s native mānuka bushes, surged during the pandemic as buyers around the world searched for elixirs to keep them healthy. The high prices it commanded pushed Kiwis to try their hand at beekeeping as a side hustle.

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