Hive + Wellness Australia (HWA), have today announced that the company’s Allowrie honey brand will be retired from supermarket shelves, and the business will begin transitioning out of the brand in a first step on the journey to making all honey products 100% Australian, excluding some active Manuka honey sourced from New Zealand.
“While it is always sad to see a brand removed from sale at our request, the Company has always been transparent that when Australian honey production and sustainable stock levels returned, we would cease the importation of honey, and that is what we are doing,” Dr Ben McKee, the Chief Executive of HWA said today.
The timing of the decision reflects the improvements in Australian honey production over recent seasons and the resulting gains in Australian honey inventory, which has reduced the need for the importation of honey to buffer supply.“We are a company that has been built on the support of Australian beekeepers for generations, and we are proud to promote their great Australian honey all around the world.”
“Capilano branded honey is, and will always remain, our 100% Australian pure honey offer in every market in which we operate. The Company's decision to retire the Allowrie honey brand will allow greater clarity for consumers of our pure Australian honey offer in the market,” Dr McKee said.
Capilano Honey Limited (CHL) was recently purchased by a private equity Consortium and the company remains majority Australian owned, with majority shareholders Wroxby Pty Ltd, Wattle Hill RHC and ROC Capital Pty Ltd. The new owners have also confirmed today that the existing investment in enhanced robust honey adulteration testing, which covers every single batch of honey sold on retail shelves, will be an on-going measure to reassure consumers of the quality of the honey products produced by the company.
To the best of our knowledge, we are the only honey packer in Australia that undertakes this level of testing on every batch, which gives consumers surety that our products are only 100% pure honey, and the best quality in the market.
“It is pleasing to see that our new owners have been true to their word, as we focus our efforts to support Australian beekeepers, the Australian honey industry and marketing Australian honey products worldwide,” Dr McKee said.