Mānuka Honey at the Supermarket (NZ)

Buying mānuka honey at the supermarket in NZ: how to read the jar

Supermarket mānuka is the same honey the brands sell online, so the same four checks apply: is it a UMF™ grade with a licence number or only an MGO figure, is it monofloral or multifloral, what does it cost per 100 g, and is the brand on UMFHA's licensed list. You can do all four standing in the aisle.

Last checked 16 September 2026 against UMF Honey Association

Updated 9 October 2026 · About 5 minutes to read · Written by NZ Mānuka Honey

Is supermarket mānuka honey real mānuka?

If it says mānuka and was packed in New Zealand, it has to meet the government's definition of mānuka. Several of the large licensed brands sell through New Zealand supermarkets and pharmacies as well as their own shops. The question worth asking in the aisle isn't "is it real" but "what exactly is this jar claiming" — and the label answers that if you know where to look.

Four checks in the honey aisle

UMF™ or MGO?
A UMF™ grade (5+, 10+, 15+ and up) is a licensed grade built on four tests. An MGO figure is one measurement. They are different claims, and UMFHA says plainly that one does not convert into the other. What each one means.
Find the licence number
UMF™ jars carry a licence holder number near the grade. UMFHA publishes every licensee: Comvita is #1019, Arataki #1003, Manuka Doctor #1026, Egmont Honey #1888. No number on a UMF™ jar is the thing to query.
Monofloral or multifloral?
Both are genuine categories under the government's test. Multifloral is cheaper and usually sits at a low MGO figure; it isn't a discounted monofloral. If the label doesn't say which, assume you are not looking at a monofloral jar.
Work out the price per 100 g
Jar sizes vary — 250 g, 340 g, 500 g — and the shelf tag doesn't always do the maths for you. Divide the price by the grams and multiply by 100, then compare like grade with like grade.

Which grade should you pick off the shelf?

The one you'll actually eat at a price you're comfortable with. A higher grade means higher tested minimums for MGO, leptosperin and DHA — and that is all it means. The price climbs much faster than those minimums do, which we show with real prices here. For toast and tea, the lower grades and multifloral jars are where most people end up.

Is it cheaper at the supermarket or from the brand?

Sometimes one, sometimes the other. Supermarkets run specials on honey, and brands run sales on their own shops. We don't publish supermarket prices because they change by store and by week and we have no page you could check them against. What we do publish is each licensed brand's own shop price on a dated day, per 100 g, on our comparison table — a useful yardstick to hold a shelf price against.

What about mānuka at the chemist or the airport?

Same honey, same checks. Pharmacies tend to stock the higher grades and the brands that also sell lozenges and skincare, and airport shops price for tourists. A jar is a jar: read the grade, find the licence number, check monofloral or multifloral and do the per-100 g sum. Anything sold on what it supposedly does for you rather than what's in it is outside what we cover.

What should make you put a jar back?

A UMF™ mark with no licence number. Ask before you buy.
A big number with no label saying what it is. "20+" alone doesn't tell you whether it's a UMF™ grade, an MGO figure or something else.
Grading words that aren't UMF™ or MGO and that you can't find explained by an independent body. Some are real measures of something else, such as NPA; we explain the differences.
No New Zealand producer named anywhere. If nobody puts their name to it, there is nobody to check it against.

Frequently asked questions

Is Pak'nSave or Woolworths mānuka fake?

Not by being sold in a supermarket. Check the jar the same way you would anywhere: a UMF™ licence number you can match on UMFHA's list, or an MGO figure read for what it is.

Why is the same grade priced so differently between brands?

Nobody outside those businesses can fully see why. We go through what we could source.

Is multifloral mānuka worth buying?

If you like the taste and the price, yes. It is genuine mānuka under the government's test, just not monofloral.

Do you sell mānuka honey?

Not yet. We'll list jars once a wholesale account is signed and the stock is in hand. Join the waitlist for one email when that happens.