Our story began in 1959, when Leon Janson decided to start a new life for his family. So, he went out on a limb, did something different, and became a beekeeper. By 1975 the brand Happy Valley was invented by Ben Rawnsley — pioneering apitherapy in New Zealand.
The Pursuit of Happiness. The heart of our hive.
Our story began in 1959, when Leon Janson decided to start a new life for his family. So, he went out on a limb, did something different, and became a beekeeper. By 1975 the brand Happy Valley was invented by Ben Rawnsley — pioneering apitherapy in New Zealand. Our first retail store was opened where customers could come and fill their own jar of honey and find out about the power of nature.
In 1990 Happy Valley harvested the first commercial quantities of Fresh Royal Jelly in New Zealand — perfecting the process to what it is today.
Six decades later, our family has grown. Happy Valley has grown.
But our goal is same: every day, we still go out on a limb to pursue happiness, in the form of real mānuka honey honey and hive based well-being products — the best New Zealand has to offer.
We are family, and we have family values interwoven throughout our company. Our customers, suppliers and partners are all part of our family. Our company strongly believe in family values, strong relationships, innovation, and honesty.
Happy Valley is the Brands and Consumer division of our parent company – The NZ Honey Group. The Happy Valley Team work across several locations in New Zealand and take care of all of our customers requirements. Our Bee Keeping divisions are operated by Melita Honey out of the sunny Hawkes Bay – where 3 generations of Bee keeping knowledge and expertise operate our Hive & Land management and Extraction Services.
“Our people are the heart of our hive”
Happiness in a jar. When it comes to real mānuka honey, quality means purity, and vice-versa. And since quality is what we’re all about, we settle for nothing less than the highest standards possible, from start to finish.
Honey is a natural product created by the joining of nature and it’s environment, making the land and bees our most precious resource.
Our Bee Keeping team consists of over 30 staff who are out in the field daily and the caretakers of our relationship with the land and the bees.
They operate out of the Hawkes Bay where we have a state of the art extraction facility and process our honey from across New Zealand.
Our products are genuine and authentic. We manage the full process, ensuring we know the quality of our product from the beginning the the end. We own our own land and Mānuka plantations, with 30 Bee Keepers out in the field placing our hives in natural environments. Extraction and Production teams are based in our own factory. We even package your honey up ourselves, selling it to you in our retail stores or sending it to arrive on your doorstep. We do it all in-house with our team.
We are family and we like to think we have a unique process.
Happy Valley are proud to partner with …
As a UMF Member we uphold the quality measures and testing regimes required to be use the premium quality and grading system on our Manuka Products. Happy Valley pays an annual licence fees and levys that helps fund the work of the association.
The UMF Honey Association oversees all use of the UMF quality trademark and supports licensees and consumers through a comprehensive science and research programme.
Origins Software
Origins powers our NFC Tagging technology we use as a quality control check that helps provide customers assurance around the source of the product and authenticity of it once they purchase the jar from their local retailer. It means each jar can be traced back and the consumer can get all the information on what that jar contains.
Origins Software is a developer of digital applications that utilises leading technology to create innovative traceability solutions for primary industries.
Buy NZ Made
BuyNZMade assures consumers the product has been proudly made and produced in New Zealand. We are a proud NZ company adhering to NZs strict regulations and we are proud to display the BuyNZMade logo on pack.
Buy NZ Made promotes and brands products and services that have been made or grown in New Zealand through the use of their iconic Kiwi trademark.
Apiculture New Zealand
We hold a membership for packing, processing and marketing NZ honey. ApiNZ is the industry body representing New Zealand Apiculture.
SGS
We hold a license from SGS that certifies our packing and logistics center for excellence on food processing.
Assure Quality
HVH111
We hold an RMP certification as issued by Assure Quality that audits our processes and production facility to ensure we meet the guidelines set out by the government and industry bodies. It shows we meet all the necessary requirements to Export and produce NZ honey.