COMPANY HISTORY
Arataki Honey was established in Havelock North, Hawkes Bay in 1944 by the late Percy Berry. Later, his sons Ian and Russell joined the business, and over 60 years later, it remains a family-owned enterprise, while also being the biggest beekeeping enterprise in New Zealand.

THE ROTORUA DIVISION

Arataki Honey Ltd is now managed in two divisions, Rotorua and Hawke's Bay.   In 1962, Russell Berry moved from Hawke's Bay to establish a branch at Waiotapu near Rotorua.  The Rotorua division is managed by Russell in partnership with his wife Annette and son Mark, all three being directors of Arataki Honey Limited. It operates 11,000 hives in Waikato and Bay of Plenty as well as 3500 in Southland, and has about 50 employees.

Since its establishment in 1962, the Rotorua division has gone from strength to strength, becoming a major business in its own right, while remaining part of the Arataki Honey family.

Arataki's Waiotapu site

The Waiotapu business has diversified well beyond honey production. It has been a pioneer in the international sale and transport of packaged bees and queen bees.  Another major component of its business is the provision of hives for pollination of New Zealand’s famous kiwifruit.

GEOTHERMAL STEAM

Arataki's Waiotapu site lies within one of New Zealand’s major geothermal areas, and our Waiotapu site is close by the world-famous Waiotapu Wonderland geothermal area.

Champagne Pool at Waiotapu Wonderland

Arataki has its own geothermal bore producing high pressure steam. Geothermal energy is clean and renewable, and our extensive use of geothermal heat for honey processing and for general heating minimises use of non-renewable energy forms and ensures that our carbon footprint is much lower than would otherwise be the case. 

Russell and Mark Berry inspecting the geothermal bore before it starts to blow

Over the years, we have developed various innovative ways to use the geothermal heat in processing and handling honey and other bee products, and this has attracted international attention in geothermal energy circles.