Manuka Health NZ - the honey health science company
Shattock Communications & Research was referred some years ago to Manuka Health (as we have been to many clients) as the company prepared for a period of ground-breaking innovation.
Manuka honey is known world-wide for its unique antibacterial properties, on which a $100 million-a-year export industry has been built.
But while the rest of the industry stayed with an unreliable 15-year-old testing system which most consumers cannot understand, Manuka Health pioneered the use of the MGO™ consumer standard based on accurate measurement of the active ingredient.
Communicating that point-of-difference is an on-going challenge which has been met by positioning Manuka Health as an innovative company based on sound science.
A selection of the media coverage over an extended period (latest first) shows how this has evolved:
Propolis - the honey extract that could fight cancer
A sticky resin made by New Zealand bees could be used to fight cancer, according to a visiting researcher . . . story and video
Bee product potentially ‘bigger than Manuka honey’
A bee health product with cancer-fighting properties could become an even bigger export earner than Manuka honey, according to the professor who uncovered its benefits . . . story
NZ beekeeper offers to test $13 tsp UK 'manuka honey'
A New Zealand manuka honey producer has offered to test a British "rip-off" of manuka honey for the active ingredient, amid reports consumers are paying £55 ($145.54) a jar for the product . . . story
Tabloid calls for active ingredient test
A new test for manuka honey’s active anti-bacterial ingredient should be adopted as an industry standard, says a tabloid newspaper distributed today to suppliers, distributors and consumers . . . story
Honey companies knew UMF test was inaccurate
Manuka honey companies which rely on the UMF test for anti-bacterial activity have known for five years it is inaccurate and unreliable. A newspaper distributed today across the manuka honey industry reveals the UMF test is “not repeatable”, with results from multiple tests on the same sample varying by up to 50% . . . story
Scientists uncover key to manuka honey's benefits
The anti-bacterial compound in manuka honey has been identified. Scientists have unlocked the secret of manuka honey's claimed anti-bacterial properties, which one producer expects will lead to a boom in exports . . . story
Manuka Health NZ Chief Executive Kerry Paul holds a copy of Manuka Expose´, a tabloid newspaper written and produced by Shattock Communications to highlight differences in industry testing standards.
A digital copy of the newspaper can be downloaded here (1 Mb pdf document).
Information about the differences between the MGO™ and UMF testing systems is available here.
Details about the anti-cancer properties of Bio30 Propolis are available here.