Description:

The demand for Mānuka Honey abroad meant that Comvita’s limited edition ‘Special Reserve UMF25+’ was likely to be in high demand even at a premium price point. Our challenge was to help them stand out in an overcrowded market, using the limited release to establish them as a market leader focusing on quality and guardianship.

With only 9000 pots available, Special Reserve Mānuka Honey is an incredibly rare product made only in Aotearoa. To resonate with a global audience we focused on one specific ingredient that they would connect with: time.

Time has become one of the world’s rarest commodities. Even just a moment can seem impossible to find. So with the launch of Special Reserve, we gave audiences a chance to pause and relax with a rare moment of harmony.

This was achieved with a harmonious brand film telling the story of the partnership between bees and New Zealand’s native Mānuka. Photo-realistic Computer Generated Imagery gave us the freedom to bring this special story to life as well as apply elements of time, nature and harmony into the design. The process started by drawing inspiration from Ikebana, the Japanese art of flower arrangement, which informs design using time, movement, lines, geometry and balance. We applied time into our design in three parts: past, present and future, which is represented as the trunk, center and top of our 3D Mānuka tree. The theme of three continues with three bees, adding considered balance and harmony to the design. The online film applies time and harmony into the design through time-lapse and slow motion sequences. An original piece of music was composed using traditional Maori instruments, bringing you closer to the unique place this natural gift comes from.

Then, those lucky enough to secure a pot of Special Reserve, were invited to a world-first Mānuka Honey taste-along meditation. The immersive mobile experience gives you over 10 minutes of sensory tranquillity, evoking the sights, sounds, smells and flavours of Aotearoa, as you mindfully enjoy a spoonful of Special Reserve, from wherever you are in the world.

The limited release run saw over 11,000 visits to the taste-along meditation experience, across 42 countries in over 230 different locations. From Adelaide to Boston to Copenhagen to Zhangzhou, residents of the world are getting their taste of the natural wonders of Aotearoa – by enjoying a rare moment of harmony.