Rare Honey Line's Visual ID Invites You to Bee Awesome

Around 1.5 billion bees and 140 humans work tirelessly to capture New Zealand’s living energy, which Mānuka Health New Zealand turns into bee products. Having spent years discovering the secrets of Manuka honey and Propolis, protecting and optimizing these products’ natural properties, the brand embarked on a mission to show the many natural benefits that its rare Mānuka honey line offers to consumers via a new integrated global campaign, courtesy of VSA Partners, a hybrid brand strategy and design agency.

As the global popularity of Manuka is growing, numerous competitors entered the category, often featuring the word “Manuka” in their names. These “lookalikes” might create marketplace confusion, so Mānuka Health, a leading natural health company in New Zealand, continues to innovate and bring products beyond its rare honey to the market. What the company needs is to not just be part of the category but be seen as the real deal.

To recast these category conventions, VSA Partners developed a new brand system and a global campaign to activate it. To support a more distinctive visual approach, the creatives designed a bright and energetic visual system, pairing it with a more human voice. Then, this system took shape as a global campaign across Manuka Health’s biggest markets.

The campaign features bold typography and a palette of both warm and cool colors. To highlight how this honey is more than just a way to sweeten one’s tea or toast, the campaign will be implemented in cross-device display ads, using custom data segments, mobile interstitials, social media, online video, and digital OOH.

Inspirational lines were created to encourage consumers throughout their daily health and wellness diet. “A Spoonful of Seize the Day,” “Nature Up, Game On,” “A Honey as Potent as Your Potential,” “Stack Your Wellness Bench with New Zealand’s finest,” “A Daily Dose of Get It Done,” and “Meet Your New Wellness Wingman” coney positive messages on how the brand’s honey becomes a reliable ally in the consumers’ process to improve their well-being.

“This isn’t just any honey, so we wanted the creative to have a look and tone that reflects how great this product makes you feel,” said Evan Thompson, Creative Director, Writer, VSA Partners, based in Chicago. “The bright colors, layering, and bold type all help to give Mānuka Health NZ an ownable point of view in the crowded health and wellness space.”

“The power of Mānuka Health NZ honey is in its natural potency, and this campaign is about giving people the confidence to embrace their true nature and live to their full potential,” added Anya Saikkonen, Global Marketing Manager, Mānuka Health NZ. “We are delighted to work with VSA Partners to help educate consumers on the benefits of our special natural product in a vibrant and approachable way.”

The initiative serves to raise awareness and educate people on the complex differences and natural potency of Mānuka honey, aiming to present the company as a trustful supporter for those in search of ways to boost their well-being and health status. The initiative repositions the brand as the guide in any customer’s wellness journey, inviting them to connect with natural experiences to feel more alive and bring out the best of what’s inside of them. Or, as the bees would probably say it: To bee awesome!

Launching this month, the campaign marks the first global work for Mānuka Health NZ by VSA Partners since the agency won the account in January. According to them, additional strategic design and communication initiatives will be featured later this year.