Our Story

SummerGlow Apiaries Ltd is a family owned and operated New Zealand beekeeping company established in 1976 by husband and wife team, Bill and Margaret Bennett.

Good People. Great Honey. Real Honest Manuka.

Bill's uncle, Norman Tuck, took up beekeeping in the Waikato, New Zealand, in the early 1940's. Bill helped his uncle during his school holidays in the early 1960's. Through working alongside his uncle Bill developed a deep appreciation of beekeeping and of the health-giving qualities of honey. During his high school years Bill ran his own hives in his parent's backyard and kept his family well-supplied with home-grown honey.

In 1976 Bill took up beekeeping fulltime and with his wife, Margaret, established SummerGlow Apiaries Ltd running about 600 hives.

In 2010 and 2011 their son, Alan Bennett, and son-in-law, James Jeffery, joined the company giving the business growth and continuation for many years ahead.

Our family has been beekeeping and producing honey from New Zealand's beautiful native bush and pastureland for over 45 years.

"We really know our honey". We now have more than 3500 beehives located in the greater Waikato region, in the pristine bush areas of the northern King Country and in the remote Forgotten World region of North Taranaki, North Island, New Zealand.

We specialize in the production of high grade UMF16+ and UMF 22+ Manuka Honey which, for the past 26 years, we have sent directly to customers worldwide.

In 1998 Bill and Margaret pioneered the establishment of the now highly-revered and trusted quality trademark UMF®.

We were the very first to differentiate between the two types of manuka honey (then known as active manuka and non-active manuka) and the first to make high grade UMF16+ Manuka Honey available to people who could benefit from its unique properties.

UMF License Number #1001

In 1995 we were the very first to differentiate between the two types of manuka honey and the first to make high grade UMF16+ Manuka Honey available to people who could benefit from its unique qualities.

Our UMF Licence number 1001, being the first ever issued, shows our dedication to and historical involvement with this very special honey.

We send our Genuine New Zealand Manuka Honey UMF16+ direct from us the Producers here in New Zealand to you the Consumer.

Our Vision

"To see people worldwide experience the unique qualities of genuine high grade Manuka Honey... because we care!"

Our Key People

Bill & Margaret Bennett

Founders, Owners and Directors

Alan Bennett

Head Beekeeper, Company Manager

James Jeffery

Compliance Manager, Beekeeper, Company Manager

Sheryl

Office Manager

Christine

Ecommerce / Dispatch Manager

Ed

Beekeeper

Simon

Beekeeper

Peter

Head Store-person, Honey Extraction Manager

Joe

Beekeeper

Harry

Trainee Beekeeper

Alistair

Trainee Beekeeper

Our Own Place

We are based at Te Kowhai, a small township about 8km northwest of Hamilton.

Our beehives are located throughout the greater Waikato area and in the remote inland King Country and Taranaki areas.

We place our beehives in different geographic regions for different floral types of honey from New Zealand's pristine native bush and lush green farmland.  Our hives produce honey from manuka, kanuka, rewarewa, kamahi, and pasture.

Our Manuka

Every drop of our manuka honey is produced by our own bees from manuka areas which we own and in which we have had hives for the past 43 years.

SummerGlow Manuka
Our Own Land

Bill and Margaret Bennett, founders of SummerGlow Apiaries Ltd, own 1640 acres of manuka-growing land on which we place our hives for the production of high grade manuka honey.

Our manuka grows wild in its natural state, not in man-made plantations but on spray-free, chemical-free protected conservation wetlands and on the very steep hillsides of some of New Zealand's most remote wilderness areas in the isolated Forgotten World area of North Taranaki.

Our Own Single Source Honey

All the honey we sell is produced by our own bees from manuka areas and native bush areas which we own and in which we have had hives for the past 45 years.   We do not buy honey from any other beekeepers.

We have full control of the quality and purity of all the honey we sell.  We know exactly where our honey comes from.  

"The Lord Is Our Light And Our Salvation"

This is Really Good Quality Honey

Based on 154 reviews
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The best!

M
UMF™ 16+ Mānuka Honey 500g (MGO 570mg/kg)
Musaed Alsultan (Al Qatif, SA)
Perfect

It is wonderful and delicious testy. In addition, very benefit for immune system and body

UMF™ 22+ Mānuka Honey 250g (MGO 970mg/kg)

S
Rewarewa Honey 500g
Sandra Harm (Brisbane, AU)
RewaRewa Honey Very Pleasant Tasting

Honey is very smooth, creamy, and tasty. Easily spread. It was my first taste of RewaRewa Honey and will definitely be recommending to family & friends. Thank You.

Best eczema cream ever

This is the only product that clears my eczema
I have used it for many years always with great succes whenever I have a flare up

W
UMF™ 16+ Mānuka Honey 500g (MGO 570mg/kg)
William Josephs (Adelaide, AU)
Another way to deal with bacterial infections

I have used your product both internally and externally (at the same time) to deal with bacterial infections. The result has been magnificent and I have not had to rely on antibiotics to deal with these issues. I have sometimes given your Manuka honey to friends with similar results to mine.

My first order

was quickly and well delivered in Belgium. Very well packed. The taste is great and I’m sure it is a good complement to my low histamine diet that helps me a great deal to suppress my astma symptoms.

S
UMF™ 16+ Mānuka Honey 500g (MGO 570mg/kg)
Sultan Ahmed Purahoo (Taipei, TW)
UMF™ 16+ Mānuka Honey 500g (MGO 570mg/kg)

For years buying UMF16+, always very satisfied with quality, price and prompt delivery. Best of all, the benefits from the UMF ingredients.

信頼をよせています!

20年以上前から、UMF16+マヌカハニーをいただいていますが、いつも素晴しい品質と美味しさを楽しみ恩恵を受けています。

NZ Propolis Extract PFL30 Alcohol Free
英子 末 (Kamakura, JP)
信頼をよせています!

長年、品質の良さを実感しています。
Summer Glowのスタッフの皆様とミツバチたちに感謝です。

T
Hand Cream Instant Moisture
Teresa Stanbrook (Auckland, NZ)

The only cream that keeps my eczema at bay.
I have been using it for years

L
UMF™ 16+ Mānuka Honey 500g (MGO 570mg/kg)
Linda Smart (Gold Coast, AU)
Thank you Manuka

Since I’ve been taking 16+ Summerville Manuka honey during mostly the winter months when I’m feeling as if I’m getting something like a cold, it has never developed into a serious cold or chest infection. Hence my investment in purchasing your Manuka honey 16+ has well worthwhile. Thank you.

Intensive Skin Care Cream. Made with Colloidal Silver & Manuka Honey.

Awesome

When I feel sick,I always take
2spoon of this honey.
I can easily get better.

,

Excellent service

Prompt delivery

Ottimo

miele dal sapore molto buono e un ottimo alleato per le difese immunitarie dell'organismo

Best product all round!

I bought UMF+ Certified Manuka Honey and it was as good as it was promised!
Bought face cream and toothpaste too, great products too.
Highly recommend any items from SummerGlow as they provide authentic and lab certified products.

Best taste & healing❤️

It helped my digestion & gastritis. Thanks. I will keep buying High Quality Manuka Honey

S
UMF™ 22+ Mānuka Honey 250g (MGO 970mg/kg)
Sultan Ahmed Purahoo (Taipei, TW)
UMF™ 22+ Mānuka Honey 250g (MGO 970mg/kg)?

We were happy with the UMF16+ and always expecting something higher as we had to buy other brands. Now, we are very happy to have a higher medicinal quality honey to go along with our health care programme. Very satisfied with the quality…reall value for money !

T
UMF™ 16+ Mānuka Honey 500g (MGO 570mg/kg)
Tania Gentry (San Diego, US)
Superb!

I love the taste!

good review

Everything about this company is top shelf. The best!

J
UMF™ 16+ Mānuka Honey 250g (MGO 570mg/kg)
James Quillinan (Fond du Lac, US)

The very best...honey, service, friendly.

Always awesome honey. Thank you

E
UMF™ 16+ Mānuka Honey 500g (MGO 570mg/kg)
Eileen Donegan (Mountainside, US)
The Best!

The products arrived safely, and beautifully packed. The first thing I did was take a spoon and try the honey 🍯 it is a golden cream color, and the taste is amazing.
I bought the UMF 16.
Thank you and the 🐝

Favorite ever!

I’ve been using this cream on my face for a few years now and love it! I use it as a daily and nightly moisturizer and for sun exposure! It’s so creamy and lasts a long time even though I use it at least twice a day! 100% recommend!