China Is Coping With Pollution by Buying Fancy Honey

Consumers in mainland China are demanding foreign brands that promise something many local products can’t: peace of mind. Worsening pollution and several product-safety scares have led to increased sales for imports that are considered safer, from baby formula and facial creams to fresh fruit and live seafood. “The fear of pollution is changing consumer spending,” says Shaun Rein, managing director of Shanghai-based China Market Research Group. “Anything that’s sort of natural is doing really well.”

Comvita is one beneficiary of the growing appetite for all-natural foods. The company, the biggest honey brand in New Zealand, relies on Chinese consumers clamoring for manuka honey for about 60 percent of its sales. People in China have long eaten honey to improve digestion and bolster their immune systems. Touted as a superfood for its antibacterial qualities, manuka honey is made by bees that pollinate the Leptospermum scoparium, a plant native to New Zealand and Australia.