By Les Watkins
International acclaim for the healing qualities in the products of Manuka Health New Zealand – and the fast-expanding international demand for those products – has clinched Waterman Capital’s decision to acquire a cornerstone 20 percent shareholding in the company.
Since being founded in 2006 Manuka Health has become a leader in the use of manuka honey for the production of functional foods, dietary supplements and wound-care medications.
It was the first in the world, for instance, to introduce a robust scientific measurement for rating the honey’s levels of the anti-bacterial compound methylglyoxal.
Globally-respected scientists have confirmed that this is immensely potent against bacteria such as Streptococcus pyogenes and Helicobacter pylori – responsible for throat and stomach infections.
And this year it took another significant step in signing an agreement with Japanese company CycloChem Bio to import advanced technology with which cyclodextrins, beneficial products from plants, can be used to encapsulate bioactives from natural products such as manuka honey.
“This adds value to the manuka honey industry and improves the efficacy of bioactive products,” says Manuka Health CEO Kerry Paul.
“Cyclodextrins carry the beneficial natural bioactives through the digestive tract, making them more effective, soluble, stable and palatable.”
Initial use of this technology is at Auckland’s Mangere Food Bowl facility but eventually it will be in the company’s Te Awamutu processing facility, which is to have an $8 million upgrade.
Manuka Health has enjoyed compound annual growth of more than 50 percent per annum over the past six years with annual sales reaching about $20 million.
Waterman Capital executive director Chris Marshall says: “This is a fantastic New Zealand health story and Waterman is looking forward to being part of the next chapter.”
