HONEY, GOOD FOR THE EARTH AND US
Paul Lups from End of the World Honey Co. is taking a unique approach to make a difference with the golden stuff, with ethics and quality at the forefront.
Where did the name come from?
It came about from two key points: our unique location here in Aotearoa, and the fact that without bees, we won’t have much of a world left. I also wanted to ensure that the brand embodied our everyday Kiwi cheek and humour.
With so many quality New Zealand honey brands, we differentiate ourselves through our commitment to protecting our environment through sustainable and ethical production.
What does it mean to be sustainable?
We view sustainability holistically and seek to incorporate sustainable solutions across the entire supply chain – for example, our packaging. We use glass and never plastic. Long term we seek to find even more sustainable options, ideally including compostable packaging, and we are keen to work with partners to achieve this.
Our [environmental] givebacks are divided into two categories: bee habitat and bee regeneration. We support the creation of bee habitats through our tree planting programme – to emphasise the link between consumer and sustainability, the unique code on our jars corresponds to a tree that can be planted in your name.
What is ethical honey?
It’s harvested in such a way where the bees’ health and livelihood aren’t compromised, ensuring they thrive despite human interaction. For example, in our ethical harvesting guidelines, we promote only removing the honey that’s excess of what the bees need.
What’s next for you?
We’ve just launched online to New Zealand and North America. We are a little different as we are looking to maintain our sales predominantly via e-commerce. We’re doing this to protect our product and brand as Manuka is highly adulterated around the world. (Though, we are the only brand with completely unique jars, to stop our product from being adulterated.) We are now looking to expand into North Asia, which is increasingly suited to e-commerce. Investing in our online presence enables us to be a truly global Kiwi brand.
How did you learn about the North Asia market?
In November 2019, I was invited on an “agri-tech tour” to Southern China through the North Asia CAPE. We took part in the largest agricultural fair in China, and the Honey World Expo and visited a number of logistics and agricultural companies; one was an industrial honey factory in Nanchang, which highlighted to me the scale of honey production overseas and the need to move towards more sustainable practices.
What is NA CAPE?
The North Asia Centre of Asia- Pacific Excellence is a government-funded organisation led by a consortium of universities: The University of Auckland, Waikato, Otago, and Victoria University Wellington. It seeks to build Kiwis’ economic, cultural, and linguistic capabilities to engage with the Asia-Pacific.
What do they do, and can anyone be a part of CAPEs?
As a government-funded organisation, CAPE’s programmes are open to all New Zealand citizens and permanent residents.
The NA CAPE offers workshops and training programmes for SMEs to build commercial and export skills. They also run programmes to support engagement and partnership building opportunities, particularly in the sustainable development space.