Our Brands
KĀRE
Pronounced ‘karr-ee’, meaning sweet or honey, the word ‘Kāre’ is often used as an affectionate greeting between friends. Kāre is our flagship brand which was designed in 2005 for our export markets, Duty Free Stores and high-end tourism outlets in New Zealand. A key aspect of the Kāre range is its gift packaging and presentation. We view Mānuka honey as a traditional taonga (treasure) and as so many of our international customers are purchasing our honey for gifts to take home we make life easier for them by presenting the product as a lightweight, beautifully packaged luxury gift.
TORU
TORU is the Māori word for the number 3. Our Toru brand depicts the 3 bees which symbolise our brand’s kaupapa (values) – Bee Well, Bee Kind, Bee True.
The TORU brand grew and blossomed in our COVID lockdown. We were worried about the wellbeing of our family and friends all around the world. We were concerned about our planet and its future. We wanted to help and to share the message of hope and new kindness that flourished in our local communities during this time.
We wanted our honeys to be more accessible for people seeking to be more proactive about their health and environment.
The TORU range is now available in New Zealand and Japan in glass packaging.
SUPER HONEY
Our Philosophy
Our business is not just about doing business. We started this as a family operation so that we could work from our rather remote farm in Karetu, Bay of Islands. Tim’s Dad was a beekeeper, we were passionate about the benefits of manuka honey and it just grew from there. Creating a lifestyle and employment opportunities is important to us. For this reason, most of our products are produced by hand. Our honeys are meticulously hand labelled, individually checked, and hand packaged. And as a result we think you get a better, more personalised product.
Modeling our business on a Beehive; We operate a highly collaborative business model, similar to a bee hive. Rather than competing with other local honey businesses we work collaboratively with them to share resources and skills. This enables us all to thrive. Due to the high value of manuka honey, the New Zealand beekeeping industry has become a highly competitive environment where the role and livelihood of the smaller traditional independent beekeepers is now challenged. We work with Northland’s independent beekeepers to produce a regional, single source honey that is unique, robust tasting and good for everyone.
Living Wage: Happy workers make the best honey. We are committed to paying our team well so that they can live well and enjoy life. We pay all our team above the living wage.
Sharing is Caring: Kare is also about sharing the advantages we have with those less fortunate than ourselves. To this end, we work with NGOs to provide sponsorship of children in third world countries by sharing the things we take for granted – healthy food, clean water, education, shelter and clothing. 10% of the Kare’s profits are pledged to support and assist children and families in New Zealand and developing countries. When you purchase a Kare product, not only do you enjoy the superb taste of this unique New Zealand honey, you are providing support to others less fortunate.
We and the children who benefit from your support thank you for your kindness and care.
Discover the Honey that suits your needs
Manuka Honey is the honey that New Zealand is famous for. Bees gather the nectar from the white-pink flowers of our native Manuka tree and from this they make Manuka Honey.