By Muhammad Rafiq
DUBAI: The True Honey Co., one of the world’s leading premium mānuka honey producers from New Zealand, has toppled its own record, harvesting a mānuka honey that has achieved the highest grade ever documented.
The Rare Harvest 2050 MGO (34 UMF™), available now in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, and right across the GCC, was tested for its potency by independent verifiers, the UMF™ Honey Association, who were able to confirm its position as the highest UMF™ mānuka honey in world history.
Each jar of The True Honey Co.’s Rare Harvest 2050 MGO is valued at AED 5,965 (US $ 1,625) and comes with its own drizzler. It is also encased in a special hand-crafted mānuka blossom box. This limited-edition range is available to purchase on the Middle East website (https://www.truehoney.ae/).
The announcement comes shortly after the official launch and recent expansion of The True Honey Co. into the Middle East region.
Clientele includes high-net-worth Middle Eastern families (private sales nearing 60 units already) and prestige retailers Harrods and Selfridges in the United Kingdom (The True Honey Co. previously collaborated with Harrods to launch the 1900 MGO, which was the highest grade available until this release). In Germany, the honey has been purchased by a premium food distributor, and in New Zealand, by businesses looking to gift something authentically representative of ‘Aotearoa’ to visiting colleagues.
Campbell Naish, Acting CEO at the New Zealand association, says although exciting, seeing the Rare Harvest achieve 34 UMF™ came as little surprise.
“We conduct up to 3,000 batch tests each year, across more than 200 brands,” says Campbell. “We also test non-UMF honey in New Zealand as well as offshore, to benchmark the performance of our members.
“We know that The True Honey Co. is committed to achieving the highest rating they possibly can, have a track record of producing high-rating honey and have tailored their processes to do so. Like any high-performing organisation, they are always looking to push the boundaries.”
Jim McMillan, the founder and CEO of The True Honey Co., says a jar of his most precious mānuka honey is delicious, particularly when consumed straight off a spoon. And its health benefits are unparalleled.
“It certainly has a strong flavour,” Jim says. “It’s similar to toffee – both sweet and savoury, with a slight mocha note. I love it. But there’s also the experience of feeling its natural goodness running through your body. Our customers tell us they buy our Rare Harvest wanting to invest in the best of the best for optimal health and wellbeing.”
With only 1000 highly coveted beautiful amber glass jars available globally, each sealed with a luxurious hand-turned native timber lid, demand for the Rare Harvest 2050 MGO has already exceeded expectations. Half of this extremely limited-edition honey was sold to eager customers – excited by the prospect of a high-performing honey that is widely known to boost immunity, relieve symptoms of cold and flu and promote gut health – weeks before it launched.
“I feel really proud of our team for their enthusiasm and commitment when it comes to the production of ultra-high grade mānuka honey,” says Jim. “To make mānuka honey of this grade takes an exceptional set of environmental circumstances along with the utmost care and attention to the hives and honey maturation process.”
In order to achieve a world record honey, Jim and his team partner with landowners who have large stands of pristine mānuka on their properties. Most are incredibly remote, so Jim deploys helicopters to drop the hives into their top-secret locations, where they stay for the duration of the mānuka flowering season before being lifted out.
It’s been done that way for 10 years, since the first time Jim spied a block of mānuka from the sky and thought ‘We should produce honey there!’
“It’s a precision operation,” Jim says. “Using helicopters means we can place our hives in the middle of remote dense stands of mānuka – places roads don’t reach – ensuring only the absolute purest mānuka nectar is sourced.”
The True Honey Co.’s Chief Marketing Officer, Jane Willersdorf, believes those who secure a jar will fall in love with the honey, its luxurious taste and texture, and enjoy its wellness properties.
Jane said: “It’s exciting to share our latest achievement with some of the world’s most discerning consumers – those who recognise the beautiful, pure mānuka honey we produce as the very best in the world.”
The remainder of the mānuka honey range is available to purchase via True Honey’s partners Aster Pharmacy (UAE) https://www.asterpharmacy.ae, Al Nahdi Pharmacy (KSA) https://www.nahdionline.com and on the brand’s newly launched Middle East website https://www.truehoney.ae/.
