NEWS

Chocolate honey, reducing food waste, a winning fruit liqueur and hemp seeds.

For some of us it would be the ultimate sweet treat – a ‘dream team’ pairing of chocolate and honey together. Mount Somers is part of the Midlands Apiaries company which started more than 100 years ago when Symes Apiaries was working with and supporting Midlands Seeds with the pollination of their arable crops at the turn of the century.

In 2019 when they launched the ‘black label’ brand, little did we know Mount Somers was working on New Zealand’s very first range of chocolate honey. There are six flavours including chocolate, chocolate and orange, chocolate and peppermint, chocolate and vanilla, chocolate and hazelnut, and chocolate and caramel, all made with fine Dutch cocoa and containing no refined sugar or artificial ingredients.

Mount Somers’ move into the chocolate honey space marks the introduction of the largest selection of one-of-a-kind flavour profiles in the history of the New Zealand honey industry, all naturally produced and in their raw form. “No-one else in the industry is doing spreads like these,” says Midlands Apiaries International Brand Manager Adam Boot. “For some, they’ll be a welcome all-natural indulgence, while others will appreciate having a locally produced and all-natural alternative.”