Offshore Awards Top Off Landmark Year

Offshore Awards Top Off Yet Another Landmark Year For Comvita

NZAX First XV member Comvita has added two more prestigious awards to its bulging trophy cabinet - this time from its offshore markets.

Comvita Manuka Honey received the 2003 Best Health Food Product Award by independent UK retailers and, in Australia, the New Supplier of the Year Award by the Healthy Life health food chain.

"Obviously, we are delighted with these awards", says Comvita's CEO, Graeme Boyd. "They reflect both the high quality of the products we are supplying into the markets and the value we place on our customer relationships."

In a survey run by the UK's leading health food business magazine to find the best product for 2003, Comvita Manuka Honey was reported as being "the clear winner" because of its "flavour, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antibiotic properties" and "consistent high quality".

"To be voted the top product in such a prominent survey is a testimony to the packaging, the presentation and to the product itself," says Comvita's marketing manager, Scott Coulter.

"We knew our active manuka honey had a good reputation for its healing properties, but this is absolute confirmation that UK retailers recognise and understand the importance selling a quality product that has been fully tested."

For Comvita, the award couldn't have come at a better time with forecasts of continued strong growth in UK sales. The natural health products company has also recently finalised a deal that will see its manuka honey sold through 400 outlets in Sainsbury's chain of grocery stores.

Receiving Healthy Life's New Supplier of the Year Award in Australia has also been well received by Comvita. Coulter says the Australian market is highly competitive with alternative products available directly from local producers. He adds that with over 90 stores, Healthy Life is one of Australia's largest and most highly influential health food chains in the marketplace.

"Receiving this award has clearly strengthened our position in this competitive market," says Coulter.

"We've focussed on the health benefits of our product and our staff have worked hard to develop strategies that enable us to work more closely with our customers and provide them with high quality service.

"It's great to see just how effective those strategies are with a leading retail chain like Healthy Life presenting us with this award. It's certainly given us a strong foothold in the market."

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