NZ-based Manuka honey producer, Comvita is venturing into new formats and flavor innovations to expand its market, while reversing its revenue from negative into positive territory this year.
Comvita has ventured into lozenges format to gain new consumers, as lozenges can be marketed at a more affordable price point and can be scaled up easily across multiple markets, according to statement by Karl Gradon, CEO at Comvita.
Manuka honey, considered as functional food, is usually sold in pharmacies and health food stores at a higher premium price point than multifloral honey. Comvita aims to expand into new formats especially for its Greater China business, which has showed signs of slowing down. Sales in Greater China dropped by more than 10% compared to a year ago.
Comvita saw demand for manuka honey peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic period, as it was highly regarded as an immune booster. Demand has since declined in 2024. To overcome this slack, Comvita has recently added new flavours to its pure manuka honey range which include yuzu and ginger flavors targeting Asian consumers. Comvita has also been formulating manuka honey with other functional ingredients as part of its R&D pipeline in recent years.
An example is its Night Rejuvenating Manuka Honey UMF 10+ sachet drink. Developed by its R&D team based in China, the product contains Rosa Roxburghii extract, artichoke extract and manuka honey for liver restoration.
While China market is lacklustre, Comvita sees rapid growth in the US which is now one of the world’s largest market for manuka honey.
