Ngati Porou Mānuka
Ngati Porou Mānuka was established to share a unique honey with the world, produced from the same land and forests that have sustained the Ngati Porou people for generations.
Project Information
Client Ngati Porou Growth, Ngati Porou Mānuka
Industry Consumer Products, Food & Beverage Innovation
Services Building Brands & Storytelling, New Ventures
Key Outcomes
Created the business profile & brand foundation.
Designed a strong identifiable brand mark.
Developed domestic & international labeling systems.
Designed apparel & corporate identity elements.
Highly functional Ecomm website created for online sales.
Full packaging system designed for higher graded Mānuka.
Overview
Develop a brand to carry the Ngati Porou Mānuka story and genealogy. This includes packaging systems, an e-commerce website, a designed customer experience, and a business profile for Ngati Porou and their high-grade Mānuka.
Remote, serene, and pure. Location is central to what Ngati Porou stand for. Their connection to the land and sea encapsulates their gift to the world and their place in it as guardians for the next generation.
With over 80,000 members, Ngati Porou is one of the largest Iwi (tribes) in New Zealand. Based on the East Coast of the North Island, they are committed to operating a world-class Mānuka Honey business. Guided by strong core values, the respect and care for the natural environment flow into the work and honey they produce. This duty of care ensures that when the product leaves their state-of-the-art processing facility, it is second to none.
Frame
Ngati Porou Mānuka was established to share Ngati Porou’s unique gift with the world, from the same land and forests that have sustained the people for generations. The natural remoteness and beauty of the region are essential in producing premium Mānuka Honey. Large stands of wild Mānuka grow naturally across the land and are supplemented with Mānuka transplants sustainably grown at Ngati Porou’s nursery to ensure the land can provide for future generations.
Mount Hikurangi, home of the Ngati Porou iwi, sits on the eastern tip of the Raukumara Conservation Park within 115,000 hectares of pristine native New Zealand forest. The park has a dedicated team tasked with ensuring the forest remains in pristine condition for future generations. This area provides the ideal home for bees with a warm climate and an abundance of food. Untouched by urbanization, the region remains sparsely populated due to the isolation the Conservation Park provides.
The Ngati Porou Mānuka Honey Cycle is the vessel through which premium Mānuka Honey is produced. The process directly reflects the iwi’s values of: Whairawa - Growing intergenerational prosperity, Kaitiakitanga - Sustainability for future generations, Manaakitanga - Respecting the land and the people, Kotahitanga - Working together as one.
Ngati Porou came to us for help in creating a honey brand that would reflect the vision and values that underpin their culture.
Our Approach
Ngati Porou Mānuka is a vital part of the local economy, focused on empowering the community by employing and developing local beekeepers. The returns from the company are redistributed through the community via healthcare and housing initiatives. It is this commitment to the land and people that underpins the values the business is built upon.
Understanding how important these values are to the business, we began by defining the genealogy story and creating icons to represent the deeply held values of Ngati Porou. At the top of Hikurangi, there stand several pou enriched with mythology. The demigod Maui fished up the North Island, and Maunga Hikurangi was the first point to emerge from the sea. Nine larger-than-life carved pou (free-standing sculptures) stand guard atop Maunga Hikurangi and watch as the stories and legends of the local Ngati Porou people come to life.
“E, I aha tera e! Ko te wero-hanga a Porourangi i te Ika a Maui, E takoto nei!”
“So nature bears witness that Porourangi had pierced the great fish of Maui, which lies beneath us!”
Excerpt from Kura Tiwaka Taua, traditional Ngāti Porou Haka.
The brand reflects this with a strong link to the heritage and values Ngati Porou stands for. The wordmark holds its own in space. The markers reflect the Pou that overlook the land and take guardianship of all that Ngati Porou provides.
Outcome
Ngati Porou is now a certified member of the UMF™ Association, which provides independent third-party verification for the quality and source of Mānuka Honey from the indigenous Mānuka plant of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Ngati Porou Mānuka is a highly prized mono-floral honey with amazing antibacterial action and a wide variety of health benefits. Mānuka Honey is raw and rich with an intense, distinctive, and pleasant flavour. It has a medium sweetness, lasting taste, and a slightly bitter aftertaste with warm herbal notes. It is also typically darker in color.
The team crafted a beautiful Matapaia (ceramic object) and designed a new shape for a Pūnu (spoon) to more accurately express how this Mānuka should be served and consumed. The design drew inspiration from the cultural tradition, design, and craft of Ngati Porou.
Matapaia is made from a unique dark Aotearoa clay. It is slip cast and then finished by hand to bring out the exquisite details expressed within the form.
Pūnu was a creative journey exploring how real Mānuka should be served. The cheap, timber beehive spoon used everywhere does not reflect the values of this special honey. To truly educate consumers about Mānuka, a new utensil was required. Our utensil elevates the experience by capturing the touch, feel, smell, and form of Ngati Porou honey. We believe this pūnu provides a more enjoyable and culturally appropriate way to consume Mānuka.
Ngati Porou Mānuka is a vital cog in the local economy, focused on empowering the community through employing and developing local beekeepers. Returns generated are redistributed through the community via healthcare and housing initiatives. It is this commitment to the land and people which underpin the values the business is built upon.
