Going green isn’t
anything new for New
Zealand’s supplier of
the number one selling
honey brand.
The family-owned business is turning
75 this year and employs over 100
staff in Havelock North and Rotorua
with exports to China, USA, Japan,
Singapore, Australia and Hong
Kong.
Arataki Honey’s Rotorua operation
has used geo-thermal to power its
processing since the early 1960’s,
but on turning three-quarters of
century old it has re-evaluating its
operation, gone back to basics
somewhat, and increased factory
efficiency in a drive to reduce its
carbon footprint.
The family-owned business has
launched a 1kg cardboard honey
pot of its top selling Clover Blend
Honey along with investing in
solar power at its Havelock North
production site in Hawke’s Bay.
Arataki’s Rhys Flack says everyone
can play a part in working towards
a goal of national carbon neutrality.
“We are constantly looking for ways
we can contribute to environmental
sustainability. The solar power
project and the cardboard pack are
two significant steps in our journey.”
On supermarket shelves now,
Arataki’s new cardboard 1kg pot is
a step back in time, to when honey
was sold in tins or wax-coated
cardboard pots. Nearly forty years
on and cardboard is back and looks
smarter than ever in the new blue
striped Clover Blend 1kg pack.
Producing the new pot has required
some capital investment in plant
and is currently much slower to
pack. Arataki believe there is a far
greater upside in being able to offer
consumers an alternative to plastic.
Thanks to an abundance of Hawke’s
Bay sunlight, Arataki Honey, the
producers of New Zealand’s
favourite honey, will halve its annual
power bill.
The family-owned business, which
celebrates its 75th birthday this
year, is investing in a solar power
installation at its production plant in
Havelock North.
Managers Pam and Rhys Flack
say the move to solar energy is
another important step in Arataki’s
commitment towards improving its
environmental footprint.
“ARATAKI HONEY HAS MORE THAN
1.5 BILLION HONEY BEES WITH
ARATAKI HIVES BASED IN HAWKE’S
BAY, BAY OF PLENTY, SOUTHLAND
AND THE COROMANDEL”
“Arataki is also making processing
changes to favour daytime power
usage, rather than at night to
maximise the benefits of the installation.
“We’re aiming to halve our $50,000
annual power bill with around seven
years payback on the capital cost,”
they say.
Arataki hopes that its solar power
investment will also pave the way
for more businesses to follow, from
seeing the environmental benefits
and energy cost savings.
The solar panels have a new bifacial
feature to increase the energy
produced – they produce power
from both (not just one) sides of the
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