The Kānuka Charitable Trust (KCT) was established in 2023 to maintain the mana and mauri of kānuka, and to ensure that Māori values are at the core of the emerging kānuka industry in Aotearoa. The KCT has secured funding to set up Hā Kānuka, the industry body, and it plays an important role in guiding the organisation by articulating the responsibilities and aspirations of Māori as kaitiaki for kānuka.
The KCT follows seven principles:
1. the Trustees will act as kaitiaki for or otherwise provide for the stewardship of the Taonga;
2. the Trustees will preserve and enhance both the value and the mana of the Taonga for the benefit of Tangata Whenua and the people of New Zealand as a whole in perpetuity;
3. the mana and the economic, cultural, spiritual, historic, and traditional values of the Taonga should be actively preserved, professionally managed, enhanced, and defended everywhere for the benefit of all New Zealanders;
4. prompt, effective, and professional action should be taken against misappropriation of Taonga, cultural or otherwise, wherever it may occur;
5. the public, including consumers abroad, should be educated as to the cultural, spiritual, historic, and traditional association of Tangata Whenua with the Taonga;
6. opportunities should be sought to relieve poverty in economically deprived areas and communities within New Zealand;
7. opportunities should be sought to preserve, restore, and enhance the natural environment of New Zealand.
In Aotearoa, kānuka is a well-known plant, being prominent in successional shrublands and secondary forests, and especially prominent in highly erodible, marginal landscapes.
Kānuka are important keystone species, acting as pioneer species to colonise disrupted or damaged ecosystems, providing erosion mitigation, an important habitat for other organisms (for example endemic geckos and fungi) and enabling carbon sequestration.
Beyond their contribution to te taiao (the environment), kānuka are increasingly recognised for their contribution to human health (e.g., as a rongoā/remedy), and potential to generate income through supporting a range of products (e.g., essential oils, honey, herbs and beverages, firewood, timber, and smoking woodchips).
For Māori, centuries of mātauranga about ways of observing and living with these species are handed down through the generations, and having these plants present in our landscapes enables us to reconnect with that knowledge.
Despite compelling evidence for kānuka having scientific efficacy, the kānuka industry remains underdeveloped. The size of the potential commercial opportunity is large:
A successful kānuka industry would be transformational for Māori, with economic and employment gains to rural communities, self-employment opportunities, enhancing biodiversity on Māori land, and increasing land use options that support social and cultural wellbeing by restoring and supporting the health of the whenua.
There is a compelling case to invest in the collective development of the kānuka industry. There has been demonstrable growth in mānuka oil and related products on the back of COVID, and there is increasing global demand for new indigenous plant extracts. Global markets already understand the value proposition of mānuka honey, mānuka oil and other indigenous plant products, and the pathway to market is clear and accessible for kānuka products.
It is hard to overstate the importance of having a strategic approach to brand, product differentiation, and marketing strategy.
Having a strong industry body is essential to help overcome challenges that no individual company can afford to tackle alone, including the protection of purity, authenticity, and the overall state of the industry. Some of the ways an industry body can help lift the overall profile of the industry are by fostering more collaboration and identifying agreed priorities, having more influence over Government and regulators, and a greater ability to enforce rules and stop fraudulent activity.
A provenance marketing strategy built on whakapapa – the relationship between Māori, the natural world, and the kānuka plant – will provide the kānuka industry with a strong branding and marketing proposition that defends against competition from similar oil industries in other countries. Building a marketing story based on indigenous provenance stories led by Māori is a sensible strategy to future-proof the industry, and it avoids workarounds that occur when hero compounds (such as alpha-pinene) are sourced from alternative sources.
To develop the kānuka product market and create a premium brand, it is critical that kānuka producers work collectively to develop standards, certification, and marketing information and messaging
1. Hā Kānuka (National Entity)
Led by Māori and works on behalf of all kānuka producers in Aotearoa to invest in activities (IP protection, certification, standards, marketing, scientific research, and government liaison) that benefit the industry.
2. Government
Provides funding for R&D and marketing through a formal relationship with Hā Kānuka, and establishes and monitors the regulatory regime for the kānuka industry.
3. Analytica (and other commercial labs)
Provides commercial testing regime for kānuka products, using industry-accepted standards
4. Regional Extraction Hubs
Collectives that lead the establishment of regional kānuka industries and produce high-quality kānuka products.
5. Individual Producers
Businesses that produce kānuka oil, honey, and dried leaf, as well as value-add products.
Challenges
The market potential for kānuka products is limited by the lack of brand development and not having a coordinated marketing strategy. Unlike mānuka honey, which has been marketed as having special health-giving properties that make it a premium brand, there has been no similar brand development for kānuka products.
The highly variable bioactive composition of kānuka products (e.g., oil chemical composition varies due to the genotype of individual trees, tree age, and environmental factors) means that care needs to be taken in any marketing based on specific chemotypes or percentages of compounds.
To develop the kānuka product market and create a premium brand, it is critical that kānuka producers work collectively to develop standards, certification, and marketing information and messaging. The continued fragmentation of the kānuka industry through individualistic behaviours is likely to erode efforts to create a strong, cohesive branding story.
Opportunities
Indigenous plant extracts from Aotearoa have social acceptance as food and medicinal products, and global demand for these is strong. Aotearoa is globally recognised as a source of pure and healthy ingredients and wellness products. Premium pricing for kānuka products is a realistic proposition.
There is scientific evidence that kānuka oil has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, and kānuka honey has immunostimulatory properties in vitro, and that topical medical-grade kānuka honey is an effective cold sores treatment. This is sufficient to feel confident that genuine kānuka products will perform well in the health and wellness sector.
A provenance marketing strategy based on whakapapa, that articulates the relationship between kānuka and Māori from the different regions of Aotearoa is an exciting proposition for positioning kānuka products in the crowded natural health marketplace.
