Answer
Apr 17, 2026 - 09:18 AM
Great question! Manuka honey comes from New Zealand and Australia and has built quite a reputation, but there are a few things worth knowing before paying a premium for it.
For starters, the carbon footprint of shipping honey halfway around the world is significant. And the price can be steep, often exceeding $200 per pound.
Here's what we'd argue: you can get very similar benefits, and in some ways even greater ones, from raw honey that's local to you. Manuka is prized largely for its antimicrobial properties, but raw, unprocessed honey of any varietal retains natural enzymes, antioxidants, and beneficial properties that heating and filtering destroy. And local raw honey has something Manuka simply can't offer: local pollen, which many people find supports seasonal allergy relief in a way that imported honey never could.
Crystal's raw, single-sourced regional honey currently runs just $6.50 to $8.50 per pound, so you're getting pure, traceable, bee-friendly honey without the markup or the miles.
