Bloomberg Business
Celebrated by Gwyneth Paltrow and Dr. Oz, manuka honey “is quite literally liquid gold” for the companies selling it. Celebrities and foodies love manuka honey, the so-called superfood from New Zealand made by bees that pollinate manuka trees, shrublike plants native to the South Pacific nation. The honey (pronounced “mahh-nu-kah”) has become a consumer favorite thanks to claims that it can kill harmful bacteria and help the body fight infections.But the soaring popularity of manuka honey is causing headaches for Comvita and other producers. In New Zealand, costs are rising as local beekeepers can’t keep up with demand. That’s creating an opportunity both for fraudsters, who are selling plebeian honey and calling it manuka, and for producers outside New Zealand, who argue the country doesn’t have a monopoly on the honey.