Discover the Exceptional Quality of Kai Ora Honey

Kai Ora is known for its vertically integrated, hive-to-jar production model — a completely connected chain from their own Māori landowner partnerships and beekeeping operations through processing and direct-to-consumer export, ensuring complete quality control and traceability at every stage.

Producing MGO-graded mānuka honey ranging from MGO 100 through to MGO 1000+ — the internationally used methylglyoxal measurement that indicates the natural potency grade of genuine mānuka — Kai Ora exports between 30 and 40 tonnes annually to customers across Japan, Australia, France, Switzerland, and Romania. Their combination of graded MGO potency, full vertical integration, Māori cultural authenticity, and the Far North New Zealand environment makes them a genuinely traceable source in a category where counterfeit and mislabeled mānuka honey is a well-documented problem.

VIEW PRODUCTS
Blanche Morrogh and the Murray Whānau: Kai Ora's Real Story

Blanche Morrogh and the Murray Whānau

Kai Ora Honey was founded in 2012 by Blanche Morrogh (of Ngāti Kuri and Te Rarawa descent) together with her siblings, in the wake of their father’s death. The business grew from the vision of two people: their late grandmother, Saana Waitai Murray, and their father, Rapine Murray. Saana Waitai Murray was an esteemed Ngāti Kuri kuia (elder), poet, and one of six original claimants of the Wai 262 claim — a landmark case before New Zealand’s Waitangi Tribunal concerning Māori rights over native flora, fauna, and traditional knowledge. That family history of advocating for Māori rights over the land and its natural resources is the direct root of Kai Ora’s Kaitiakitanga-based approach to beekeeping today.

Blanche Morrogh, who now leads the business as CEO alongside her husband Liam and siblings Tae, Sobieski, Samson, Walter, and Mabel, has spoken publicly about building the company from near-bankruptcy and recovering from the deliberate destruction of hives early in the business’s history — resilience she’s credited directly to lessons from her grandmother. In 2017, she received the University of Auckland’s Young Māori Business Leader Award, one of the country’s most prestigious Māori business honors, and later that year introduced QR-code batch traceability so customers could verify exactly where their honey came from — years ahead of it becoming standard practice in the industry.

A Daily Ritual from Te Hiku o te Ika, New Zealand

A Daily Ritual from Te Hiku o te Ika, New Zealand

Each jar of Kai Ora mānuka honey reflects the Māori principles, indigenous beekeeping knowledge, and Far North environment that have guided this whānau-run operation since 2012.

  • MGO-graded mānuka honey from MGO 100 to MGO 1000+, independently tested at every grade
  • 100% Māori-owned, guided by Kaitiakitanga — the indigenous guardianship principle that treats the land as a responsibility, not a resource
  • Over 500 active hives in the Far North, managed in partnership with Māori landowners
  • Hive-to-jar vertical integration providing complete traceability, reinforced by QR-code batch tracking
  • Founded by the Murray whānau, rooted in the legacy of Ngāti Kuri kuia Saana Waitai Murray, a Wai 262 claimant

Kai Ora brings together Far North New Zealand mānuka, independent MGO grading, and the documented cultural and family history of the whānau who built it.

Kai Ora: True Superfood Mānuka Honey

Methylglyoxal — MGO — is the compound responsible for mānuka honey’s unique and scientifically validated natural antibacterial properties, properties that set it entirely apart from conventional honey and have made genuine mānuka one of the most researched functional foods in modern nutritional science. Kai Ora’s MGO certification ensures that every jar delivers the verified level of natural bioactive potency the label claims, from the pristine Far North New Zealand environment that produces some of the world’s highest natural MGO concentrations.
Kai Ora is especially valued by those who make high-MGO mānuka honey a daily immune and wellness practice and want a source they can completely trust, health-conscious consumers who understand that genuine certified mānuka honey is one of the most evidence-supported natural functional foods available, and individuals who value the cultural authenticity and ethical integrity of a Māori-owned, community-rooted honey operation as part of their choice.

BenefitDescription
MGO CertificationIndependent MGO certification from 100 to 1000+ verifies the exact natural antibacterial potency of every Kai Ora jar — no guesswork, no greenwashing.
Far North Pristine EnvironmentHives in the remote Far North of New Zealand access mānuka and kānuka nectar in landscapes of extraordinary natural purity.
Kaitiakitanga GuardianshipThe Māori principle of responsible land stewardship ensures that every harvest respects and sustains the natural environment that makes this honey exceptional.

The certified MGO potency, Far North provenance, Māori cultural integrity, and hive-to-jar traceability of Kai Ora make it ideal for those who want the most authentic and the most wellness-active mānuka honey available.

Daily Use for Wellness, Longevity, and Recovery

Kai Ora mānuka is most effective as a consistent daily practice — taken each morning on an empty stomach for maximum bioavailability of its MGO antibacterial properties, used as a natural daily immune support, applied directly for wound or sore throat management, and chosen as the functional honey foundation of a wellness-oriented daily routine.
This approach is especially valued by those who have made high-potency certified mānuka a daily immune maintenance practice, individuals recovering from illness who want the natural antibacterial and anti-inflammatory support of genuine high-MGO honey, and health-conscious consumers who understand that the daily consistency of a genuinely potent, certified mānuka practice delivers more than occasional use of even the highest grade.

UseHow to Enjoy
Morning Wellness PracticeTake 1–2 teaspoons of Kai Ora mānuka on an empty stomach each morning — the most effective daily use for MGO bioavailability and immune support.
Natural Sore Throat ReliefAllow a teaspoon of Kai Ora to dissolve slowly in the throat — the natural MGO antibacterial properties provide direct, evidence-supported relief.
Immune Support SupplementUse Kai Ora as the natural daily foundation of your immune support routine, especially through winter months and high-risk periods.
Premium Culinary HoneyDrizzle Kai Ora mānuka on yoghurt, porridge, cheeses, and fresh fruit — delivering the wellness benefit alongside extraordinary Far North New Zealand flavour.

The certified MGO potency, pristine Far North origin, and genuine Māori cultural integrity of Kai Ora make it ideal for those who want their daily mānuka honey to be as real as the land it came from and as effective as the science says it should be.

High MGO Honey by Kai Ora

Kaitiakitanga: Guardianship of the Land

At Kai Ora Honey, Kaitiakitanga — the Māori concept of guardianship and intergenerational stewardship of the natural world — is not a marketing principle. It is the governing philosophy of every decision made about how and where the honey is harvested, how the land is managed, and how the community of Māori landowners and beekeepers who make Kai Ora possible are supported and included.

With over 500 hives managed in active partnership with Māori landowners across Te Hiku o te Ika, Kai Ora’s model is one of genuine community ownership and shared benefit — ensuring that the honey resource of the Far North generates direct, lasting value for the Māori community it comes from.

Their approach

With a vertically integrated production model built on Māori land, managed by Māori beekeepers, and guided by mātauranga Māori passed through generations of the whānau, Kai Ora ensures that every jar of mānuka is as culturally authentic as it is naturally pure. Their approach to the land reflects the Kaitiakitanga principle that the environment is a responsibility — something to be nurtured across generations, not extracted from in the present. These practices result in honey of the most complete ecological and cultural integrity.

By maintaining hive management standards that protect the native mānuka and kānuka ecosystems of the Far North and by sharing the commercial value of their honey with the Māori community that makes it possible, Kai Ora ensures that their operation is as good for the land and people of Te Hiku o te Ika as it is for the customers who benefit from their extraordinary honey.

VIEW PRODUCTS

Award-Winning Māori Mānuka Honey

Kai Ora has earned significant recognition for both the quality of their mānuka honey and the leadership of the whānau behind it, from national and international media coverage to formal business awards that recognise Māori enterprise and food innovation.

Kai Ora Awards and Recognition

VIEW PRODUCTS

Frequently Asked Questions About Kai Ora Honey

  • Who founded Kai Ora Honey?

    Blanche Morrogh founded the business with her siblings in 2012, building on the vision of their grandmother, Ngāti Kuri kuia Saana Waitai Murray, and their father, Rapine Murray.

  • What does MGO mean on a mānuka honey label?

    MGO stands for methylglyoxal, the compound used internationally to grade mānuka honey’s natural potency. Kai Ora’s honey is independently tested to verify the MGO grade on each jar, from MGO 80 to MGO 1000+.

  • Where is Kai Ora Honey produced?

    In Te Hiku o te Ika, the Far North of New Zealand, from hives managed in partnership with Māori landowners.

  • Does Kai Ora sell anything besides mānuka honey?

    Yes, a kids’ multifloral honey, mānuka sauces, and a skincare range, Hāna Botanicals, that uses mānuka honey as an ingredient.

  • What is kaitiakitanga?

    Kaitiakitanga is the Māori principle of guardianship and intergenerational stewardship of the land, the philosophy that governs how Kai Ora manages its hives and works with Māori landowners.

Explore the Kai Ora Honey Collection

VIEW ALL

JOURNAL

Know What You’re Tasting

The Journal is where we go deeper into the stories and knowledge behind the collection, so you can understand what makes a product distinctive before it ever reaches the table.

It is a place to understand the details that matter, and the reasons a product earns its place with us.

View all
PREVIOUS NEXT
0
Your Cart
Your cart is emptyReturn to Shop