Come behind the scenes with Jesinta & Buddy

In October this year, the Honey For Life team took our new co-founders, Jesinta and Buddy Franklin, up to visit our Manuka plantation. We planted around one million trees just over five years ago—and they are thriving. The Manuka stands have now reached around six feet high and are flowering in abundance, transforming the landscape into a sea of soft white blooms.

For anyone unfamiliar with this remarkable species, Western Australian Manuka is one of nature’s quiet powerhouses. The Manuka plant - Leptospermum Nitens—belongs to a broader family of native tea trees that flourish in environments where the weather can be unforgiving: coastal winds, dry spells, sandy soils. Yet it’s within these harsher conditions that Manuka reveals something extraordinary. Environmental stress prompts the plant to produce potent natural compounds - most importantly dihydroxyacetone (DHA), which later transforms into methylglyoxal (MGO) inside the honey. MGO is the hero compound celebrated worldwide for its ability to fight harmful bacteria, support healing and strengthen immune health.

This is why MGO is the benchmark of Manuka honey’s famed antimicrobial activity - and the reason it carries such a strong global reputation for wellness.

Western Australian Manuka holds an added layer of uniqueness thanks to our isolation, climate, and bio-secure environment. WA remains one of the last disease-free honey regions on earth, untouched by devastating pests like Varroa mite. This allows our bees to forage undisturbed and chemical-free. Surrounded by vast native stands of Manuka and pristine bushland, our bees enjoy uninterrupted nectar sources that result in beautifully pure, consistently high-activity honey.

Because of these natural advantages, the Manuka collected from our WA land is rich, potent, and naturally bioactive. Every batch reflects the integrity of our environment—clean air, clean soil, and untouched forests. It’s Manuka in its purest form: raw, unblended, and brimming with naturally active compounds that support everyday vitality and wellbeing.

During their visit, Jesinta and Buddy spent the day immersed in the world of beekeeping - up close with the bees, witnessing the brilliance of their work and watching our Manuka honey being created in real time (shout out to Jesinta who blew us all away with her incredibly passionate energy at 30 weeks pregnant!). 


Plantation visits like these are a powerful reminder that every drop begins with nature - and the extraordinary dedication of the bees themselves.

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