Onuku Farms & Software Development

General Manager for Onuku Ltd, Les Stowell, knows the value of being a Maori brand.

Recently attending the Apimondia conference in Montreal, Canada – the International Apicultural congress and attending also the Canadian Health Food Association (CFHA) Expo in Toronto, Les found the interest in Manuka Honey is still intense but more so when it is backed by a Maori brand with a great provenance story. Buyers are wanting traceability of product, but also the knowledge that their purchase is resulting in social good.  Onuku Ltd is a 100% owned subsidiary of Onuku Maori Lands Trust and provides education grants, Kaumatua grants and shares its profits with its owners and this is a great marketing benefit.

Onuku Maori Lands Trust is located on the shores of Lake Rotomahana, at the southern base of Mount Tarawera with mud soils that are the result of the Tarawera eruption. The trust had been the recipient of the 2018 Ahuwhenua trophy for Dairy Farming and has four dairy farms, a drystock farm, forestry, manuka plantation and substantial reserves.  The trust has an emphasis on sustainability and made the decision to diversify into a honey export business in 2016.  

Les Stowell was appointed General Manager and his experience in the industry enabled the trust to quickly establish in the Manuka honey market.  Now exporting to Japan, North America, UK, Middle East and Europe, Les has found that the ability to include the trusts story sets Onuku honey above others in the market.

Onuku also owns its own traceability software which enables buyers to get all the information about Onuku honey through a scan of the NFC technology behind the label. “Origins” is exceptionally secure and provides great traceability of product, including a copy of the test results for the specific batch and provenance of the Onuku brand.  This has been a major point of difference for selling Onuku Honey overseas where buyers need certainty of traceability.

With a long term vision to grow their brand and be kinder to the environment, Onuku Maori Lands Trust are currently developing one of their dairy units into a Sheep Milking unit, hoping to incorporate this into their exports one day.