Native only to New Zealand, Manuka honey is derived exclusively from the flowers of the Manuka bush, one of the biological anomalies that arose only in New Zealand, as the island formed the perfect isolated habitat.
Manuka flowers are pink in color and traditionally used by the MÄori people, the indigenous Polynesian people who discovered its medicinal qualities.
Because Manuka honey is only sourced from one type of plant, it is held to rigorous standards of testing to ensure that it is all it claims to be.
German natural health company, Manukana, started only two years ago, is already acclaimed for the high quality grade of Manuka honey used in all of its wellness products.
Manukana founder Grischa Eichfuss says he started the brand because he was not seeing the level of quality he would have hoped for from other Manuka honey products on the market.
Manukana is a world leader in Manuka honey quality, certified as an organic product at the American and European standards.
But more than just selling an organic product, Manukana boasts a plastic free package, decreasing plastic waste at the consumer level, and elevating the quality of the honey contained therein.
Manukana worries that so many brands today are using plastic, when this type of packaging has been proven to leach into the honey itself, diminishing an otherwise healthy product.
But the company also goes a step above setting the standards for human health and safety along with product quality, they also care for their most important and vulnerable team members: the bees.
Manukana practices ethical beekeeping, this means respecting the needs of the hive and putting the health of the bees above profit margins.
When kept correctly, Manukana says that a hive of healthy happy bees is essentially immortal.
While individual bees may die, the same colony of bees can thrive for years upon years if cared for correctly.
Unfortunately, widespread commercial beekeeping has been extremely detrimental to bee populations across the globe.
Careless beekeepers end up exposing their bees to agricultural pesticides, and other toxins which can cause colony collapse.
Colony collapse is a contagious and devastating condition by which entire bee colonies die off, often spreading from colony to colony so that an entire area is affected.
By keeping their practices organic, and keeping their bees happy, Manukana not only produces a better quality of honey, but also helps to save the bees on a larger scale.
In return, the bees produce this specialized, medicinal grade honey, used not only as a sweetener but also as an antibacterial, antimicrobial, and as a salve.
As technology advances, new uses for Manuka honey are being discovered every day, and Manukana is on the cutting edge of the very best in nature centric technology. ■