Manuka Health

Manuka Health is a New Zealand bee-products and skincare company founded in 2006 [8]. It builds a single wellness system around three ingredients drawn from the hive — manuka honey, propolis and royal jelly — and applies them across honey, immunity supplements and a prestige-priced facial skincare range. The brand remains active, selling through international online storefronts and supporting an ongoing research programme.

The company describes itself as "the guardians of nature's gifts" and frames its purpose as sharing what it calls nature's most luminous gifts for the wellbeing of people and planet. Behind that positioning sits a sizeable beekeeping operation: by its own account, around 200 staff work alongside roughly 1.5 billion bees across some 21,000 hives.

Manuka Health was established in New Zealand in 2006 — the same year, the company notes, that British hospitals began using manuka honey against antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and that methylglyoxal (MGO) was identified as the bioactive compound behind the honey's antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties [8]. The discovery shaped the company's direction. From 2008 onward, Manuka Health's MGO grading scale developed into what the company describes as an international standard for rating manuka honey [8]. The founders are not publicly recorded on the company's own materials; Ben Boase is named as chief executive in third-party coverage.

Manuka Health's catalogue spans honey, propolis and royal jelly products, throat sprays, lozenges, immunity shots and capsules, alongside its skincare. Topical beauty is organised into two lines. The Eternal Renewal range is positioned for anti-ageing and combines royal jelly, MGO 800+ manuka honey and bee venom — which the brand likens to a natural alternative to Botox — to target fine lines, elasticity and hydration [4]. The Pro Vitality range is positioned for brightening and barrier support, pairing propolis, a patented form of vitamin C and MGO 400+ manuka honey.

The vitamin C used in Pro Vitality is ascorbyl glucoside, a water-soluble derivative that the company says is more stable than pure ascorbic acid and converts gradually into vitamin C on the skin for a more controlled release [9]. Signature skincare items include the Eternal Renewal Regenerating Face Cream and the Pro Vitality Daily Restorative Face Serum, with the range sitting at a prestige price point.

Research is central to how Manuka Health presents itself. The company reports holding 12 propolis patents in New Zealand and abroad, covering gastrointestinal and skin anti-cancer bioactivity [10]. Its propolis work was developed in a long-running partnership with Callaghan Innovation, New Zealand's government innovation agency, with the scientist Owen Catchpole seconded into the business from 2012 [10]. The company also cites collaboration with Thomas Henle of the Technical University of Dresden, whose work helped identify MGO, and references the late Peter Molan, who founded the Honey Research Unit at the University of Waikato [8].

For its skincare, the company commissioned consumer studies through the testing firm Citrus Labs. According to results it publishes, 90 percent of participants agreed their skin felt moisturised and nourished within two weeks of using the Eternal Renewal Face Cream, and 94.4 percent agreed the Pro Vitality serum left their skin looking more radiant after two weeks [7].

Manuka Health frames sustainable beekeeping as a priority, describing an Apiculture Excellence Programme with year-round hive monitoring, mapping technology to avoid over-stocking hives, and a policy of using no antibiotics or hormones. It works with landowners to return marginal farmland to native forest while producing manuka honey [6]. On packaging, the company says it is the first manuka honey brand to use the same recyclable material for both jar and lid, intended to simplify recycling.

Manuka Health's manuka honey products are described as made, tested and sealed in New Zealand and certified by independent bodies, with batches carrying laser-etched, traceable numbers. Its honey range lists certifications including Non-GMO Project Verified, BRCGS food safety and a halal certificate, while the Pro Vitality skincare line carries EcoCert COSMOS Natural certification for natural and organic ingredients [5].

Coverage of the brand has come chiefly through its science partnerships and product reviews. In 2020, Callaghan Innovation profiled the decade-long propolis collaboration as an example of science-backed product development [10]. In 2024, the editorial outlet The Quality Edit reviewed the Eternal Renewal Regenerating Face Cream, characterising Manuka Health as a New Zealand bee-based clean anti-ageing line and noting that the cream was "creating some serious buzz" [11].

Manuka Health is active. It operates international e-commerce storefronts, maintains current honey, supplement and skincare ranges, and continues its research activity; its skincare line drew editorial coverage as recently as 2024.