From the land
New Zealand honey
Honey with a sense of place - shaped by local flowers, seasons, climate, and landscape.
Our story · Newbee Meadery
Curiosity
started it.
A chance drink at The Mussel Inn sparked Harry’s curiosity. Years of experimenting with New Zealand honey followed, and Newbee grew from there.
Harry Oram & Zoe AlexanderCo-founders
The first pour · Tākaka
An old drink,
found by chance.
When Harry and Zoe visited The Mussel Inn near Tākaka, Harry tried Applebee - a meeting of cider and mead. A bartender’s explanation led to a little research, then a much bigger question: where was the local mead?
Mead offered something compelling: a delicious beverage built around honey, capable of reflecting flowers, season, climate, and place. With few local bottles to explore at the time, Harry began making his own in 2021.
Newbee grew as a partnership. Harry leads the meadmaking. Zoe helps with marketing and branding, gives honest feedback, and supports the business wherever the work lands.
Curiosity starts the journey. Honey, time, and place give it meaning.
A wide-open pantry
Then came the experiments.
Still and sparkling. Fruit, spice, botanicals, oak, yeast, and many different New Zealand honeys. Each batch became a way to understand what mead could be - and what Newbee could bring to it.
- Mango
- Chilli
- Lemon & lime
- Blueberries
- Strawberries
- Blackberries
- Banana
- Mint
- Cacao
- Vanilla
- Pineapple
- Passionfruit
- Kiwifruit
- Plum & cherry
- Allspice
- Cinnamon
- Apple & pear
- Clove & cardamom
After years of exploring, Harry and Zoe decided it was time to share the results.
More than our own palate
Encouragement came from clubs, mead makers, retailers, and bar owners. It showed Harry that other people were curious about what mead could become.
The idea behind the name
What Newbee
stands for.
Newbee’s mission is to produce a new sustainable beverage: New Zealand honey, new techniques, and new flavour combinations.
In the making
New techniques
Traditional foundations explored through careful fermentation, small trials, and constant learning.
In the glass
New flavour combinations
Familiar fruit, spice, and botanicals brought together with curiosity and a reason for being there.
Purpose, place, and people
Why honey?
Why here?
Sustainability is personal.
In 2026, Harry works full-time as an Environmental Manager. While studying chemical engineering, he focused on renewable energy. Newbee carries that same instinct: make something enjoyable while keeping its ingredients, impact, and room for improvement in view.
That commitment shapes an ongoing ambition - to make Newbee a more sustainable beverage choice, to keep improving how it is made and delivered, and to be honest about the work still ahead.
Christchurch is ready for curious flavour.
Harry grew up in Canterbury. Christchurch’s inventive food scene and strong craft-brewing culture showed Harry and Zoe that people here were ready for flavours that did not fit a familiar category.
Honey makes that exploration local. It begins with flowering plants and pollinators, then carries something of season and place all the way into the glass.
Crafted for the curious
Try something new.
Newbee is about looking again at an old drink - and making space for new ideas. We want each bottle to create a shared moment: something to savour, talk about, and trace back to the plants, bees, honey, and people that made it possible.
See what we’re building New Zealand · R18 · Please enjoy our mead responsibly.