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her inspiration without the use of antibiotics – it's a bit like foot and mouth disease for bees. Without treating the disease with drugs, we are able to offer our product to the market as the finest and purest honey in the world. It is always going to cost us twice as much to get our product out there because of our location so we need to have a real point of difference. "In the past farmers in New Zealand have been lucky enough to have plenty of feral bees. Then the yarroa arrived and changed all of that. Now honey bees can't survive here without human intervention. It's become essential for us to find the best way to protect our bees. Without bee pollination we'll lose so much." Maureen has had a long association with the food and wine industry in New Zealand, being one of the co-founders of Matua Valley Wines. In her late teens, Maureen teamed up with brother, Ian Margan, and Bill and Ross Spence and bravely planted the first sauvignon blanc in New Zealand back in 1974. Later she founded The Hunting Lodge Restaurant and more recently BeesOnline. A brush with cancer in 1989 made Maureen more environmentally minded – her remedy, a more natural lifestyle based on organics, sustainability and honey of course. "The edge tends to be my comfort zone," Maureen says. "I tend to be up there leading people in new directions. I saw potential for the wine industry in New Zealand and when I got into the honey industry I saw similar avenues to market the product." BeesOnline started from Maureen's kitchen in 1999. A chef and passionate 'foodie' Maureen started out with a hive in her back garden and discovered the wonderful fresh taste of raw honey. From there BeesOnline was established as a business supplying delicatessens and restaurants in Auckland and then gradually throughout New Zealand. "When the business started I had some old heritage Black boy peach trees that weren't producing any fruit, so I bought a beehive from a friend for around $120, took some night classes and within six months I was amazed at the quality of the fresh product coming straight out of my garden." Before long, Maureen had bought more hives, outgrown the house and bought four further hectares of land on the main road to Muriwai Beach in Auckland. "My business success has always been to have a point of difference. When I first got into honey a decade ago, the big darling of the industry was the UMF Manukas. There were several companies doing that very well so I thought I would use my food and wine background to take something that you spread on toast into the gourmet food market. Now things like premium ice cream, muesli (or breakfast cereals), marinades and dressings are sweetened with honey." When varroa hit it was mandatory for Maureen to treat it with chemicals so she lost organic certification on her hives, and with it the premium market for her product. "It meant that I had to be resourceful, and because my factory was still organic we engaged with other beekeepers throughout the country who could still produce organically. I was then able to evolve the business to represent different crops and regions. This taught me to consider every opportunity presented to me and make the most of it." Maureen explains how in her 'first life' she studied architecture and industrial design at Auckland University while working at 32 | February/March 2012 | HER MAGAZINE