Is Arataki Honey a New Zealand company?

Yes. It is family owned and based in Havelock North, Hawke's Bay, where its own history page says the business was founded in 1944. It describes three manufacturing sites across the North and South Islands.

What honey does Arataki sell apart from mānuka?

Clover (creamed and liquid), rewarewa (creamed and liquid), kāmahi, rātā, tāwari, blue borage, pōhutukawa, thyme, multiflora and clover blends, clover comb honey and a chilli-infused honey, per its online shop on 23 October 2026.

Can you visit Arataki Honey?

Yes. The company's visitor centre in Havelock North is listed as open seven days, 9am to 5pm, with free entry. Group tours and school visits need to be booked.

How much is a jar of Arataki honey?

On the company's own online shop on 23 October 2026, the Classic Kiwi 500 g jars were listed at $12.00 and the single-source specialty 500 g jars at $14.60. Supermarket prices vary.

Brand profile · Havelock North, Hawke's Bay · founded 1944

Arataki Honey

Arataki Honey is a family-owned Hawke's Bay beekeeping company founded in Havelock North in 1944. Its range, listed prices, visitor centre and what the company says about itself, from its own site.

Who owns Arataki Honey, and where is it from?

Arataki Honey is a family-owned New Zealand honey company based on Arataki Road in Havelock North, Hawke's Bay. Its own history page says Percy Berry bought nine acres there in 1944 and, with his son Ian, registered 131 hives to Arataki Apiaries Ltd. The company now describes itself as having three manufacturing sites across the North and South Islands, more than 100 staff and 1.5 billion bees.

How Arataki Honey started

The company's own story begins with a 17-year-old Percy Berry being asked to help a neighbour remove a swarm of bees from a tree. From that swarm came the ambition to keep bees full time. In 1944 he bought nine acres in Arataki Road, Havelock North, and with his son Ian registered 131 hives to Arataki Apiaries Ltd. Eighty years on, the business is still family owned and still headquartered on the same road, which is where the name comes from.

Arataki describes itself today as having three manufacturing sites across the North and South Islands, employing over 100 people, and being home to 1.5 billion bees. On its FAQ page it also calls itself New Zealand's most popular honey brand; that is the company's own claim, and we have not seen the market data behind it, but it is certainly one of the labels you will find on most supermarket shelves in the country.

More than a honey packer

Honey in jars is the visible part. Arataki's services page lists three other lines of business: live bee packages and queen bees exported to international markets, pollination hives for New Zealand's horticultural crops, and bulk honey in larger packs for catering and manufacturing. That mix, with hives earning their keep in orchards as well as on honey flows, is common among the larger New Zealand beekeeping companies and is part of why a brand this size can keep a wide range in stock.

The story page lists the compliance regimes the company works under: an exporter licence, site compliance certification, a certificate of kashrut (kosher certification), and membership of the UMF Honey Association for its mānuka grading. The UMF side is covered on our sister site, nz-manuka-honey.co.nz; this page is about everything else Arataki sells.

The Arataki range, and what it costs

The company sells direct from its own online shop, and the listed prices below are from that shop, read on 23 October 2026. Supermarket prices differ, and all prices change. The range splits into four groups.

Classic Kiwi Honey: the supermarket line. Clover Blend, Multiflora, Rewarewa and Multi-Flora with Mānuka, each listed at $12.00 for 500 g and $7.00 for 250 g, plus a 500 g Squeeze Me bottle at $10.00.
Specialty Honey: the single-source jars. Clover (creamed or liquid), Blue Borage, Kāmahi, Rātā, Rewarewa (creamed or liquid), Tāwari, Thyme (creamed) and Multi-Flora, each listed at $14.60 for 500 g; Pōhutukawa at $13.80 for 250 g; and a Hot Chilli Honey infused with real chillies at $13.80 for 500 g.
Comb Honey: Clover comb at $12.65 for 150 g and $25.30 for 340 g.
Mānuka Honey: UMF 5+ through UMF 20+, and an MGO 50+ blend. Grades and prices for those belong on the mānuka site.

Two things stand out in that list. The specialty range covers most of the floral sources this site writes about: kāmahi, rātā, tāwari, blue borage, pōhutukawa, thyme and rewarewa, which makes Arataki one of the few mainstream brands where a shopper can try a named native honey without going to a farmers' market. And the price gap between the classic blends and the single-source jars is small, a couple of dollars on a 500 g jar, which is a useful benchmark when a boutique label asks three times as much for the same floral source.

Creamed or liquid: the same honey, two textures

Several Arataki honeys are sold both ways. Creamed honey is the same honey with its crystallisation controlled so it sets fine and spreadable rather than hard; liquid is the same honey before it sets, and if it is a glucose-rich source like clover it will set in the cupboard in time. Neither is better. Creamed vs runny honey explains the difference, and why honey crystallises covers bringing a set jar back.

The Arataki Honey Visitor Centre, Havelock North

The Hawke's Bay site has a visitor centre, and the company's visitor centre page says it is open seven days from 9am to 5pm with free entry. There is a live hive to look at, honey tasting, a dress-up beekeeper photo spot for children, and factory specials in the shop. Group tours (the Bee Enthralled tour for adult groups of 8 to 20 and the Bee Enlightened tour for groups of 10 to 30 children, both 40 to 60 minutes) need booking, and some carry a small charge. School groups tour free during term, by booking. The site lists coach and campervan parking, wheelchair access and visitor toilets.

If you are touring Hawke's Bay wineries, the centre is a short detour from Havelock North and one of the easier places in the country to taste several floral sources side by side before buying. NZ honey by region covers what else the Bay produces.

Reading an Arataki label

Arataki's single-source jars name the floral source on the front, and the classic line is honest about being a blend: Clover Blend and Multiflora say what they are. How to read a NZ honey label explains which words on a jar have a definition behind them and which do not. For the mānuka jars, the UMF number is the thing to read, and the sister site has the conversion chart.

Where to buy Arataki honey

Direct, from aratakihoney.co.nz, which ships within New Zealand and lists overseas currencies.
At the Havelock North visitor centre shop, which advertises factory specials.
In New Zealand supermarkets, where the Classic Kiwi line is the one usually stocked. Check the shelf for the specialty jars; not every store carries them.

We have no relationship with Arataki Honey, take no commission on anything you buy, and the company has not reviewed this page. Everything above comes from its own website on the date shown, and from what is printed on the jars.

Source: Arataki Honey’s own website, aratakihoney.co.nz, read 23 October 2026. Prices are the shop’s listed prices on that date and will change.

Common questions

Is Arataki Honey a New Zealand company?: Yes. It is family owned and based in Havelock North, Hawke's Bay, where its own history page says the business was founded in 1944. It describes three manufacturing sites across the North and South Islands.
What honey does Arataki sell apart from mānuka?: Clover (creamed and liquid), rewarewa (creamed and liquid), kāmahi, rātā, tāwari, blue borage, pōhutukawa, thyme, multiflora and clover blends, clover comb honey and a chilli-infused honey, per its online shop on 23 October 2026.
Can you visit Arataki Honey?: Yes. The company's visitor centre in Havelock North is listed as open seven days, 9am to 5pm, with free entry. Group tours and school visits need to be booked.
How much is a jar of Arataki honey?: On the company's own online shop on 23 October 2026, the Classic Kiwi 500 g jars were listed at $12.00 and the single-source specialty 500 g jars at $14.60. Supermarket prices vary.