About Us

OUR STORY

Earthbound Honey was established in 2006 by Terry and Karlene Shaw-Toomey. Wanting a better life for their three boys, Terry left his job as Production Director for a city-based communications company and started working with the bees. A year later Karlene reduced her workload as a landscape gardener and joined him. They now both work from their 11 acre property in the beautiful Bethells Valley, lying north-west of Auckland. So fast forward to 2018, when their eldest son and his wife have joined the Earthbound team and are helping steer and to grow the next chapters, The Forgotten Garden and Steam Hauler Customs. 
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WHY OUR HONEY?

NATURAL :

Each and every batch of Earthbound Honey is rigorously tested every year by an independent laboratory. These tests support our artisan approach and process to ensure our honey is of the finest quality. Although we are not certified, we do follow organic practice where possible.

RAW : 

Earthbound Honey is never heat-treated or pasteurised. Our honey is minimally filtered to only remove bees and excess wax – leaving pure raw natural honey. We process our honey this way to ensure the wax, pollens, trace minerals and complex sugars that occur naturally in the honey are never compromised.

HEALTHY :

Counters Pollen Allergies. Raw honey contains bee pollen, which is known to ward off infections, provide natural allergy relief and boost overall immunity.

 

WHY WE DO IT THIS WAY

THE PEOPLE :

We place our hives in conjunction with our landowners in areas to obtain optimal conditions for the bees and the land. To gain access to these areas, we have formed long-term relationships with many landowners. We consider ourselves very fortunate to live in a community that understands and supports local business.

THE LAND :

We are passionate about our honey here at Earthbound and proud of this wonderful land we call home. The flora and fauna that exist around us are unique; many of these species cannot be found outside New Zealand. We harvest our wonderful honey from the native Manuka tree (leptospermum scoparium) the Pohutukawa tree (Metrosideros excelsa) and a number of other New Zealand natives that grow locally.

CREATING PROVENANCE:

With the right people, the right land and the right process, we create provenance here at Earthbound. Our customers confirm this – over 90% of the people who purchase Earthbound Honey return to purchase it again, many at the exclusion of whatever honey they have used in the past. Almost 50% of our new customers were recommended to buy Earthbound Honey by a friend or family member. So why do we work so hard to ensure our honey is so good? The answer is simple – Provenance.

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