Staff from New Zealand's biggest Manuka honey exporter this week donated more than 250 jars of honey and over 300 other items of food to the Rotorua Salvation Army and the Tauranga Community Foodbank.
Comvita hopes that the initiative will happen each year.
Every month the staff at Comvita are entitled to take two pots of honey. But during the month of December, they were encouraged to donate their allowance of honey to charity.
People and Culture coordinator for Comvita Nikki Reedy says, “the staff have been fantastic at donating their product the charities that we have given too have just been amazed at how much we have given them as well. So we have not only given them our staff product allowance the business has match those pots of honey as well too so that they even more.”
At the Paengaroa office 150 staff contributed to the donations. This year the company received a turnaround of $14.8 million in sales growth.
For the CEO, Scott Coulter, it was a no-brainer to help those in need.
“It’s a really good feeling to give to people particularly at this time of year and I know everyone is busy, everyone has got lots on but it’s to think about those people who perhaps don’t have as much as what you do”.
At a cost of $15 for 500g Kylie Overbye of the Salvation Army in Rotorua says they never expected the kind gesture.
“It was such a delight to receive these pots of honey because honey is really expensive for us to be able to put the honey into the food parcels it means that people are getting something that they wouldn’t normally get and that is a real treat.”
Comvita hopes to continue the initiative into the future.