What Is Manuka Honey? Benefits, Uses, and Where to Buy

What makes Comvita Manuka Honey so special and so different from other honeys? Read on to find out...

Manuka Honey is a very special kind of honey that’s highly prized by naturopaths, dietitians, athletes and natural health consumers around the world. They follow in the footsteps of the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand who have used and valued the benefits of Manuka Honey for centuries.

But what makes Manuka Honey so special? Where does genuine Manuka Honey come from? What are Manuka Honey’s benefits? Keep reading to discover the story behind this very special gift from Mother Nature and why its pure natural source and strict grading system really do matter.

The origin of Manuka Honey

Manuka Honey is a unique and very special honey that’s truly the ‘gold standard’ of honey. Manuka Honey is produced from the nectar of the sweet-smelling Manuka flower found in hills and valleys around New Zealand.

Whilst Manuka trees can be grown in other parts of the world, they’re indigenous to New Zealand, making Aotearoa (New Zealand) Manuka’s native home.

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Since Manuka Honey can only be produced in areas abundant with native Manuka blossoms, many of our hives are located in some of the most remote parts of New Zealand, accessible only by helicopter and hiking. This can make collecting this precious nectar challenging and is just one of the reasons that Manuka honey is more expensive than ordinary honey.

What makes Manuka Honey different from other honeys?

Most home kitchen cupboards will contain a generic kind of squeezy-bottle honey. But as you’ve just read, genuine Manuka Honey is harvested by honey bees from the nectar of the Manuka flower, a scarce and natural resource found only in New Zealand. It’s unique because it contains special properties that may help to support digestion, health, healing and even to soothe and moisturize skin and hair.

Unlike most other varieties of honey, which can be collected throughout much of the year, Manuka Honey is a limited resource because the trees only flower for between 2 to 6 weeks each year. This means our busy bees only have a short window of time to collect the precious nectar and work their magic to create this rare and sought after honey!

Collected from the remote hills and valleys of New Zealand, Comvita Manuka Honey’s exclusive source and high quality extraction help to make this honey one of a kind.

What are the unique components of Manuka Honey?

How does Manuka Honey taste?

Thick, rich and delicious, with a characteristic dark cream to dark brown color, Manuka Honey has long been admired as an exceptional honey with a distinct, complex flavor and rich aroma unlike any other honey in the world.

The higher the UMFTM grading, the richer and more ‘savory’ the honey, and the higher its health-supporting properties, which helps explain why premium UMF15+ or UMF20+ Manuka Honey is in such high demand.

No other honey has the volume or complexity of natural components at work as New Zealand Manuka Honey.

What are the benefits of Manuka Honey?

Manuka Honey’s key natural compounds offer sweet benefits for both the inside and outside of your body. Nature’s most powerful honey can be used for:

• Daily immune support
• Aiding digestive and gut health
• Antioxidant protection
• Soothing coughs and sore throats
• Natural pre-workout energy boost
• DIY skincare to support glowing complexion
• Single-ingredient, antibacterial face mask for acne-prone skin
• As a beneficial sweetener alternative for teas and coffee

Discover the exceptional benefits of Manuka Honey, along with the super-powered properties packed into every jar of Comvita Manuka Honey.

Manuka Honey grading systems: what are UMF™ and MGO?

With so many brands, confusing labeling and mixed marketing messages out there these days, it can be very hard to tell the difference between authentic Manuka Honey and marketing hype.

Some brands are labeled with terms like “Bio-Active”, “Active”, or “Factor”, with numbers ranging from 5 to 500. And, in some cases, honey producers are making authenticity claims, even though their honey isn’t tested or verified.

There are a variety of grading systems to look for today – the two most common being UMF™ and MGO. Here at Comvita, we believe the most important standard to look for is UMF™ (Unique Manuka Factor), the strictest quality trademark identifying natural, unadulterated Manuka Honey.

The UMF™ quality mark on a jar of honey ensures you’re buying natural, unadulterated Manuka Honey from New Zealand.

The UMF™ number (5+, 10+, 15+, 20+ etc) represents four unique signature compounds that ensure purity and quality. These are:

MGO or Methylglyoxal is the compound chiefly responsible for the antibacterial property of Manuka Honey and forms the basis of the UMF™ grading system.

Leptosperin is found in the nectar of Manuka flowers and is the most discerning characteristic that reflects Manuka Honey purity and distinguishes it from other honey types.

DHA – Research has shown that the MGO in New Zealand Manuka Honey originates from the chemical compound Dihydroxyacetone (DHA), which is present in the nectar of Manuka flowers to varying degrees.

HMF or ‘Hydroxymethylfurfural’ is also found in the nectar of the Manuka flowers and converts into MGO once the bees gather the nectar and turn it into honey.

The four important compounds that measure the quality of your Manuka Honey.

The Manuka Honey MGO rating explained

MGO or methylglyoxal is a unique, naturally-occurring chemical compound found in Manuka Honey that gives it its highly prized antibacterial properties and makes it one of the most sought after honeys in the world.

While MGO is one of the four unique compounds that can be used to identify the purest and best Manuka Honey (as shown above), The MGO grading system solely measures the amount of Methylglyoxal present in Mānuka Honey (in mg/kg). However, synthetic MGO can be manufactured and added into honey to create ‘fake’ Mānuka Honey.

Which means that just measuring MGO alone doesn’t give you sufficient assurance of the authenticity, purity and quality of the Mānuka Honey you’re buying.

UMF™ – the strictest and highest Manuka Honey standard

When it comes to rating the quality of Manuka Honey, there really is no comparison – UMF™ is the global independent standard for Manuka honey.

The UMF™ mark on your jar of Comvita Manuka Honey means its quality has been independently certified for potency, purity, authenticity and freshness by the UMF™ Honey Association of New Zealand (UMFHA), the rating system backed by the New Zealand government. As well as regular monitoring, the UMFHA also conduct random sampling to ensure Manuka Honey carrying the UMF™ mark is always true to label.

You can rest assured that every jar of genuine Comvita Manuka Honey always carries the UMF™ trademark. In fact, no other honey is as tested and trusted as ours – plus we trace every single drop of our honey on its journey from hive to shelf.

What makes Comvita the best Manuka Honey?

As a world leader in Manuka Honey, nearly 50 years of beekeeping science, knowledge and care is lovingly bottled into every jar.

With a deep respect for nature, born from our pioneering and visionary beekeeping heritage and our heartfelt belief that food is the best medicine, Comvita is committed to leaving the world in a better place. We’re on a mission to help restore and strengthen the delicate balance between humans and nature, while generating positive social outcomes around the world.

Following principles of kaitiakitanga (guardianship), we plant a native tree for every jar of our Manuka Honey sold, with 10 million trees already planted in some of New Zealand’s most fragile environments. Dedicated to bee welfare, we work to save millions of bees around the world every year, donate 1% of profits to global community partnerships and lead the way in creating a circular and carbon neutral honey business.

We believe in and stand for a world where bees, nature and people can thrive in harmony. A better world for future generations.

Not all honey is equal! It’s important to look for the UMFTM trademark to ensure you’re getting genuine Mãnuka Honey.

Where can I find genuine Manuka Honey near me?

Here are four things to look out for to ensure you’re getting the ‘real deal’...

The honey comes from New Zealand. Just like real Champagne comes from France, New Zealand’s Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) set new standards for honey that’s exported to the United States as “Manuka Honey” after August 2018.
The honey is labeled as ‘monofloral’ (which means it comes predominantly from the Manuka flower, ensuring its unique properties), or ‘multifloral’ (a blend of Manuka and other New Zealand wildflowers). Either way, it should have a clearly labeled MGO rating.
The honey has the UMF™ independent certification, guaranteeing specific levels of Manuka’s four key compounds.
The honey comes from real beekeepers. Choose a company with their own beekeeping operation: one that is a responsible steward to the planet and its people. Manuka Honey is one of the Earth’s most rare and precious natural resources. Both the Manuka Flower and honey bees are incredibly sensitive to climate changes, so it matters that Manuka Honey is harvested sustainably and regenerative.

It also matters that it comes from equitable partnerships with beekeepers and New Zealand’s indigenous Maori people, who have valued the benefits of the Manuka flower for centuries.

So now that you have all the facts on Manuka Honey, you can start enjoying its unique and special qualities for yourself.

FAQs

What makes Manuka Honey different from other types of honey?

Rich in amino acids, vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, proteins, carbohydrates, and bioactive compounds, Manuka Honey is a ‘super food’ that’s at the forefront of natural health sciences. No other honey has the volume or complexity of natural components at work as New Zealand Manuka Honey.

Genuine Manuka Honey is harvested by honey bees from the nectar of the Manuka flower, a scarce and natural resource found only in New Zealand’s hills and valleys. Manuka trees only blossom for between 2 to 6 weeks each year, which is why it’s so rare and precious.

How is Manuka Honey graded?

There are a variety of Manuka Honey grading systems on the market, with the two most common systems being UMF™ and MGO. Here at Comvita, we believe the most important standard to look for is UMF™ (Unique Manuka Factor), the strictest quality trademark identifying natural, unadulterated Manuka Honey.

The UMF™ number (5+, 10+, 15+, 20+ etc) represents four unique signature compounds that ensure purity and quality – and the higher the number, the higher the Manuka Honey’s purity and potency. You’ll find the UMF™ trademark on every jar of genuine Comvita Manuka Honey.

Where to buy Manuka Honey?

High-quality Manuka Honey can be found in most health stores, department stores and some supermarkets around the USA. Alternatively, you can buy Comvita Manuka Honey directly from us online, so you know you’re getting the genuine article sent to you from our hives in New Zealand, to your hands.