Airborne Honey is New Zealand's oldest honey brand, founded in 1910 on Banks Peninsula and now operating from Leeston on the Canterbury Plains. A family-owned company for over 115 years, they are renowned for producing a wide range of unique New Zealand varietal honeys — including manuka, rata, rewarewa, kamahi, and honeydew — using patented gentle-processing technology and an industry-leading in-house laboratory system.

The Beekeeper's Story

Airborne Honey Ltd commenced commercial operations in 1910 on Banks Peninsula, founded by William Bray and Alfred Barrett, who operated apiaries of 30–50 hives and produced native honeys on the rugged terrain. In 1926 the 'Airborne' brand was officially registered as a white clover honey, making it the oldest surviving honey brand in New Zealand. In the late 1920s, the operation relocated to its present site at Leeston on the Canterbury Plains, where a processing and packing plant was built. The company has remained a family concern across generations — William Bray's son Jasper, then grandson Peter Bray, who joined in 1980 and serves as managing director — growing into one of New Zealand's largest honey processing and exporting companies, shipping to over 20 countries. In 1997 the company sold its hive operations to focus on processing and marketing, and developed a patented liquefying process and sophisticated in-house laboratory with over 35,000 records to ensure every batch is honest, undamaged, and fully traceable back to individual apiaries.