ABOUT US
How it all started
Bill Savage has been fascinated by bees since he got his first beehive, aged 12. Forty years later, Bill now has over 5000 hives across 110 sites in the East Cape region of New Zealand.
Bill is passionate about people and the East Coast. By employing only local beekeepers under a profit share arrangement, he ensures every jar of WildCape is helping support the local community. The long-term relationships and profit share agreements he has with landowners of the Manuka forest provide another example of how WildCape is giving back to the region Bill loves.
From a special location
WildCape is the only single source UMF™ Manuka honey harvested exclusively from the untouched East Cape region.
Geographically isolated by the Raukumara Ranges to the West, the East Cape of New Zealand has remained sparsely populated and unspoiled. The region still has large tracts of virgin forest and a drive along the coast reveals endless untouched sweeping sandy beaches.
Often regarded as producing some of the finest Manuka honey in New Zealand, the East Cape region’s Manuka flowers produce nectar which is naturally high in Dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a precursor to the compound Methylglyoxal (MGO). The result is Manuka honey with consistently higher UMF™ – and more natural goodness for you to enjoy.
Direct from the beekeeper
Bill Savage and the WildCape team specialise in harvesting single source Manuka honey from the East Cape region of New Zealand. A dedicated team control all aspects of the production supply chain, from our 15 fulltime beekeepers who care for the hives, to our specialist extraction and processing team who pack and label each jar of WildCape by hand – ensuring only the highest quality UMF™ Manuka honey reaches your table.
Harvested with love
WildCape beekeepers journey to some of New Zealand’s most remote areas to source our truly unique Manuka honey.
Just before Manuka flowers each Summer we shift our hives from their Winter locations to dense Manuka forest in more than 100 sites along the East Cape coast from Te Araroa to Mahia.
After the bees have collected the Manuka nectar and made their precious honey, we carefully gather the boxes and drive these back to our extraction facility in Gisborne. Once the honey has been extracted from each frame, we send samples to Analytica Laboratories for independent testing to verify the Unique Manuka Factor (UMF™) ensuring only the finest Manuka honey makes it into every WildCape jar.