The Beehive Story

Back in 1991, some smart people down in the Wairarapa had a pretty great idea. They were huge fans of smallgoods; salty, fatty, satisfying, comforting, happy deliciousness. So they decided to go big. Like, “let’s make NZ’s most delicious smallgoods” big.

So they set up shop, trademarked the name, and perfected the Beehive honey cured and wood smoking techniques. Before long, they were producing Wairarapa’s most delicious smallgoods.

We’re glad you asked… We used New Zealand honey, sourced from the Canterbury region where White Clover is the predominant flower across the rural pastureland. This particular flower is renowned for its purity, low moisture content and mild delicate taste. We use this to cure our meats and deliver delicious products all around New Zealand.

Our meat is smoked the old fashioned way using natural wood and we fully believe that our traditional techniques create a superior flavour. The Pioneering methods are continued by our hard working and passionate employees today.

In 2007 Beehive lead the way with their portion controlled snap packs. We were proud to combine the leading packaging technology with our time-tested methods to deliver the freshest and most delicious hams every time.

Australia's #1 smallgoods producer Primo, and the wider JBS family, joined forces with Beehive in June 2012 to bring their products to stores in New Zealand!

Fast forward about 30 years, and Beehive are now producing delicious bacon, hams, sausages and shaved meats for the whole country, staying true to the recipes and processes from back in the day, with a few innovations here and there. And now we can actually say we do make NZ’s most delicious smallgoods.