Mānuka Charitable Trust Warns Global Buyers Of Misleading Australian Honey Claims

The Mānuka Charitable Trust has expressed concerns regarding marketing by an Australian honey producer positioning its honey as equivalent to honey from the mānuka tree found in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Capilano makes claims that, in the Trust’s view, deliberately undermine the authenticity, cultural significance, and scientific uniqueness of honey derived from Mānuka located in Aotearoa New Zealand – a native species of deep significance to Māori and found only in Aotearoa.

“As the national Māori representative voice for the indigenous taonga species known as Mānuka, we are concerned that marketing materials misrepresent both the origin and the identity of authentic products derived from Mānuka and it is inappropriate and misleading,” said Victor Goldsmith, Chair at the Mānuka Charitable Trust.

“Mānuka is more than honey - it’s an indigenous name, a unique New Zealand product, and part of Māori healing tradition,” added Kristen Kohere-Soutar of the Mānuka Charitable Trust.

“For genuine Mānuka honey, choose Aotearoa New Zealand-sourced. It ensures authenticity, supports indigenous rights, and upholds scientific integrity,” she added.

The Trust believes using the term “Mānuka” in Australian marketing is not only misleading - it is a form of cultural appropriation and a challenge to the principles of fair trade and informed consumer choice.

“Australian honeys have their own their authentic names, origin and attributes. The word mānuka does not exist in the vernacular of Australia’s First Nations peoples, who have their own names for their distinct botanical honeys. The name mānuka is not Australia’s to use,” she said.

The Trust’s position is supported by scientific evidence which confirms that Leptospermum scoparium is an outdated classification that does not accurately reflect the significant genetic divergence between Leptospermum scoparium found in New Zealand and the Leptospermum species found in Australia.

The Mānuka Charitable Trust has been looking into the global protection offered by the geographical indication system used by France and Italy. 

Spokesperson Kristen Kohere-Soutar said the Trust wants to see the system adopted in New Zealand to protect the mana and value of its mānuka products.

“Anyone around the world producing honey, calling it mānuka honey that's not come from New Zealand – would be stopped by courts from being able to trade. That's the kind of protection that we need here.”

About Mānuka Charitable Trust

MCT is a charitable trust established in 2020. It was formed as the guardian of the taonga, Mānuka and is representative of Māori from across Aotearoa.

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