38 | Kinloch Honey - 2023 Unison Great Lake Taupō Business Awards Super sweet success Operated by Lee Tahere and wife Chrissy, Kinloch Honey traces back to Lee’s step-dad Mark. T T Sue Russell REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT For prompt service and quality product, get in touch with Stuart CP[VKOG QP QT QWT QHƂEG VGCO QP naturalsugars.co.nz Congratulations Lee and team on your progressive efforts towards sustainability in our industry. The best outcomes often arrive when a business starts from somewhat humble beginnings mixed with the passage of time. This is certainly the case with central North Island, honey producers and beekeepers, Kinloch Honey, led today by an enterprising young couple. Operated by Lee Tahere and wife Chrissy, Kinloch Honey traces back to Lee’s step-dad Mark who, from a desire to move from farming, began producing honey in a small shed on a farm above Kinloch, Taupo. “I have him to thank for inspiring me to learn all about bee-keeping and honey manufacture,” says Lee. Lee took over the reins in 2015, having fallen in love with all things ‘bee’ initially back in his school days. As a student he had his own hives to care for and was encouraged to learn. “It was an opportunity to carry the business on from those pioneering days and to grow it to embrace principles based on Kaitiaki, care for the land and its people, that caught my imagination,” Lee explains. For Lee, being able to work in ways that spoke to values and world-views he was brought up with, serving an industry he is passionate about while creating beautifully crafted manuka, clover and multi-floral blends, is the best possible way to make a living, provide for his family and enjoy life in all its abundance. Tending to the health of bee colonies in 2000 hives spread over pristine land from Taupo north to Tokoroa, west to Bennydale and south to Rataehi, keeps a team of five staff fully engaged over the summer months. After rigorous testing for purity and potency, honey is packaged at its registered production facility in Kinloch, ready for sale through Kinloch Honey’s on-line store and in local retail outlets. Hives lead a super-busy life in fact being relocated from their wintering in the bush on to orchards for fruit fertilisation, then finally taken to a family-owned block of 800ha near Rataehi to feed the bees enjoying the manuka flowers. Recognition of just what the business has achieved has come in the form of winning an important category in the 2023 Unison Great Lake Taupo Business Awards. Kinloch Honey took out the ‘Excellence in Sustainability’ category, an achievement everyone involved in the business is very proud of. Judges noted the ‘carbon-negative’ status of the business achieved by employing sustainable practices to preserve the environment. For Lee, this recognition reflects what he has always believed to be the under-pinning values-based approach he carries into operating the company. “Producing honey provides you with so many opportunities to make good to the environment and that’s certainly driven how we operate.” The block of land has a very special feel to it, where a dedicated Manuka planting programme is evolving. For this to happen, and to provide opportunities for whanau and friends to enjoy all the great outdoors has to offer, three solar-powered huts have been built for accommodation. Asked how it came about that he entered Kinloch Honey into the business awards, Lee says, it was a friend who, having observed the company’s sound environmental practices for many years, suggested they enter. “We also use solar-power for the extraction of honey and our manuka planting practices are designed to give back to the whenua, improving the whole environment for all sorts of flora and fauna to thrive.” Experiencing the growing pains of working in a business while also needing to set aside time to work on it, is something Lee is very aware of. To help, he’s undertaking a Business Owners course with Ice House in Tauranga. The team working on the ground are all bee-keepers in training, supported by Lee’s step-dad. “It’s been wonderful to see them progress through their learning and to contribute to the success of the company as well as their own professional growth.” Lee says looking back on the journey to date, he’s grateful to be leading a small honey company with a big future. He believes in the products they make and their ability to provide some sweet goodness to customers. Looking ahead, new products are currently being developed, including body scrubs in what can only be described as an exciting period of growth and new opportunity just around the corner.
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