Bay of Plenty honey producers Mossop’s Honey has been in business since 1947 and throughout that long period the company has continued to respect and use traditional honey production methods pioneered by its founder Ron Mossop.
Today, the company is led by Ron’s youngest son Neil as a director along with Neil’s second son Duane as managing director. Neil’s wife Wendy helps oversee the daily operations as general and export manager.
“We are very fortunate to have been able to maintain the business all these years, through lots of changes and an at-times challenging environment, as a family-run operation. We’re proud of that history,” says Wendy.
Mossop’s Honey pioneered the pollination of kiwifruit by bees as Neil explains.
“I put 100 bee hives into kiwifruit orchards back in 1971. Today the total number of hives that are placed in Kiwifruit orchards across NZ is up to 80,000 hives. We were also one of the first to do the same for avocados.” Ron Mossop pioneered the production of Tawari and Rewarewa honeys.
Today Mossop’s is better known for its iconic honey shop at Tauriko, Tauranga and also for its UMF® high-grade manuka honey renowned world-wide for its health benefits.
As a member of the Unique Manuka Factor Honey Association (UMFHA), all the manuka honey Mossop’s produces, fulfi ls stringent quality criteria.
Their honey comes in three grades, UMF™5, UMF™10 and UMF™15.
Their shop stocks and sells a wide range of honey products, from UMF graded manuka honey to skin and health-care products.
It’s a popular stopping-in site for thousands of visitors every year. For those who cannot visit the store on the outskirts of Tauranga, the Mossop’s Honey website has an on-line shop.
Research into the health benefits of manuka honey began in the late 1970’s when scientists found it was very beneficial for inhibiting growth of bacteria and is today widely used in the treatment of such conditions as stomach ulcers.
“All honeys have an antibacterial quality to them however when UMF-graded honey is used it continues to inhibit growth in bacteria for significantly longer periods,” Neil explains.
The family’s support of Ron Mossop’s pioneering work in the honey industry in New Zealand is reflected in the sponsoring of the annual ‘Ron Mossop Youth Scholarship Award’.
The award includes $2000 towards the training programme, plus a one-year ApiNZ membership and attendance at the Apiculture NZ annual conference in the year the scholarship is awarded.
Today, Mossop’s Honey has approximately 5000 bee hives throughout the Bay of Plenty, East Coast and Central North Island regions. The hives are regularly checked and relocated to increase their productivity.
Wendy says looking back on the long history of the independently owned family-run business comes with a sense of pride as to what has been achieved simply working with amily-based values.
“We are happy with what we are doing, but are always looking for ways to improve our management practices, products and services.
“Our customers love the atmosphere of the honey shop and we have long-standing clients whom we value very much. We know how to care for the honey throughout the production and packing processes.
“You can taste the difference because we don’t over-process. That has been one of the keys to our success and the reputation our honey has here and around the world.”
This article was brought to you in association with the following businesses…
- Dean Bartlett Electrical
- Tunnicliffe’s Beehive boxes
- BeeGreen
