Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Honey company named as NZ's fastest growing business

Updated at 12:49 pm on 29 October 2009

A Dunedin-based honey maker has been named as New Zealand's fastest growing business with revenue growing by nearly 1000% over the past two years.

New Zealand Honey Company emerged the winner in the Deloitte Fast 50 league of the country's most rapidly expanding firms.

It was set up in 1986 by the Alpine Honey company, to market specialty honeys. It now exports a range of honey, mainly to Britain, Germany and Hong Kong.

However, chief executive Chris McElroy says South island honey production is shrinking due to the invasion of the varroa honey bee mite, an aging bee-keeping population and the loss of hives to the North Island, attracted by the manuka honey trade, which is more lucrative.

Runner-up

Runner-up was Queenstown based MedRecruit which handles medical recruitments internationally.

Next was Auckland-based NextWindow which develops and produces optical touchscreen systems.

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