The BeesOnline Story

BeesOnline is a premium honey producer, specialising in NZ monofloral honeys and culinary honey products. You can find a full selection of premium New Zealand honeys such as Manuka, RewaRewa, Tawari, Kamahi, Rata and Pohutukawa alongside specialty honeys like Orange Blossom, Avocado, Thyme, Honeydew and Rose. Our culinary selection includes Red Wine & Manuka Honeygar, Honey Mustards, Roasted Nuts in Honey and many more.

BeesOnline started from owner/director Maureen Maxwell's kitchen in 1999. A Chef and passionate 'foodie' Maureen started out with a hive in her back garden and discovered the wonderful fresh taste of raw honey. Maureen began experimenting with honey in cuisine – the versatility and stunning taste of natural honey from sweet to savoury application was outstanding.

From there BeesOnline was established as a business supplying delicatessens and restaurants in Auckland and then gradually throughout New Zealand. The business has grown since and in 2003 a purpose built honey production centre and restaurant was opened. Our new honey centre has been designed with visitors in mind, with a focus on education about bees, our ecosystem, and of course the types and uses of our honey. The Honey centre is complimented by an award winning restaurant that showcases indigenous New Zealand cuisine and of course our exceptional honey products.

Our Red Wine & Manuka Honeygar was developed in Maureen’s kitchen... using an old cider vinegar and a recipe based around a proven homeopathic formula. She combined naturally fermented and barrel aged vinegar with manuka honey. This was then fined, flitered, aged and hey presto ...a contemporary honeygar was born. A low fat product, high in anti-oxidants, antibacterial & anti-fungal properties it is health & wellness in a bottle! It has proven to be a versatile product that can be used as an alternative to Balsamic vinegar for dressings and what’s more it tastes great! We then wrapped it up in some stylish packaging and BeesOnline Honeygar™ was established and is now one of our most popular items.

BeesOnline is a fully sustainable site - to us the environment is very important. It is our mission to respect and preserve the environment in all aspects of our operation…we call it 'stewardship of the environment'. Honey itself we say is a triple bottom line product… Not only does it taste good, it’s good for you and the environment. Even the food police can’t find anything bad to say about it!

We are positioned at the gourmet end of the honey market…estate bottled as opposed to bulk honey in the box, With 25+ years in the wine business we liken tasting honey to tasting wine. Manuka & strong Bush Honeys can be compared to a Full bodied dry red wine which is mineral & herbaceous... The sweet floral characteristics of the Pohutukawa, Tawari can be likened to a sticky dessert wine.

Here at BeesOnline, we foster a culture of product innovation and attention to detail. Quality is paramount and we pride ourselves on producing exceptional honey products.

We welcome your interest in our products.
To contact us direct and find out more please click here.