Me Today founders Grant Baker, Stephen Sinclair and Michael Kerr. Photo: Supplied
Health and wellbeing company Me Today is the latest business to be hit by the global honey glut, with hundreds of tonnes of liquid gold to shift.
More than two years after the New Zealand company bought King Honey for $36 million, its largest Chinese customer has declined to accept more of its BEE+ mānuka honey.
This is a hangover from the post-Covid health buzz, which saw many newbies enter the market, resulting in an oversupply of honey and subdued prices.
Me Today chair Grant Baker said losing those sales in China meant lower than anticipated income for this financial year of "a couple million dollars", which would not improve until the business has shifted its own inventory on-shore.
Mānuka honey sold well over the Covid pandemic due to its health benefits. Photo: 123rf
"The beginning of Covid, honey sold really well, particularly mānuka honey, because of the health benefits," Baker said.
"There was big demand, so big production (with) forecast good demand, but that (demand) didn't come about, then the value of honey went down.
"It was booming three or four years ago. I think we're in the middle of a bit of a bust now that many people have a lot of honey stock."
Baker said many smaller players have since left the game - and prices are near the bottom, with fewer hives about.
He said last season's harvest was half of expected volume - coming in at 50 tonnes - so he was hopeful the business could "get out on the other side" and move inventory to new markets.
"We have 500 tonnes of honey in stock, so we've paid the cost of harvesting that, storing that and putting it into jars and so on, but haven't sold it.
"We've got lots of inventory to sell, so that's what we're focusing on.
"But we've found other markets, so we're selling a bit into the US, which is a customer we haven't had before.
"We've got a large supermarket chain we're selling to who is a good customer, online through Amazon, plus we've opened up other markets.
"We're selling a bit into Dubai now, into Japan - the two biggest of the alternative markets - and we've sold a little bit into the UK."
He said the business expects their main Chinese customer to weather the storm.
A cost-cutting review of Me Today is imminent, but Baker declined to comment on the impact it could have on staffing.
