About Us.
Our Story
Branch Creek Station has been in our family for five generations dating back to the early 1920’s. Situated in the Cardrona Valley high country we farm the station extensively, producing fine wool, top quality beef and lamb and unique single-source honey.
As a family we believe that we have a very important role in caring for the land we are so privileged to be on, to preserve its value for years to come and leave it in a better way than when we found it.
The South Island high country is a delicate and unique environment, no farm is the same and each boasts a rich and diverse ecosystem. In order to regenerate, the flora in these ecosystems relies on modern day beekeeping for pollination. Our bees help pollinate all species of plants here at Branch Creek, from our native alpine country through to our introduced pastures.
Our Honey
Single-source honey, straight from the beekeeper
As bees pollinate the flora at Branch Creek they feast on the delicious nectar of the plants, bringing it back to their hives to preserve for the winter months when food sources are scarce.
At the end of the honey flow we harvest only what the bees can spare to produce our unique and delicious single-source Clover Blend Honey. It is here that we taste the beautiful diversity of our local ecosystem.
Our honey is single-source (single origin) meaning we only harvest from hives located on Branch Creek which sit in permanent sites (known as apiaries) around the farm. These sites are hand-picked as perfect oasis’ for our bees. Each season is slightly different and despite the constant location of our hives each year’s harvest does provide different characteristics - just like wine!
We are proud to produce a product that does so many good things for our beautiful earth and feel that once harvested it is our responsibility to process and present this product in the most sustainable ways we can. A big impact we have is our packaging. We acknowledge that glass has a much higher footprint to produce than plastic but we chose to use glass for the ease of reusing or recycling it. Our honey is packaged in glass jars which we reuse when returned to us. Learn more about our packaging here.
Processing of our honey is outsourced to two other locally owned inter-generational family businesses. A special thanks goes to Alpine Honey in Hawea Flat and Milburn Honey in Milton for the role they both play in getting our honey ready to share with you. Experts at what they do, we are proud to work with the teams at these businesses.
You can be sure that when you purchase Branch Creek Honey you are receiving top quality honey with a known origin, produced by happy, healthy bees and passionate, educated beekeepers.
Who Are We?
All members of the family have played important roles in the development and success of Branch Creek over the years.
Today Branch Creek Honey is run by Jessica Curtis (Jess). Jess is the granddaughter of Ray who brought the original hives to Branch Creek in 1998 and kept bees as a hobby to help with pollination.
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Ray began beekeeping at Branch Creek in 1998. The beehives he kept pollinated the pastures on the farm, which in turn allowed our livestock to stay healthy... and as a bonus our families pantry was full with Branch Creek’s liquid gold honey!
Ray saw a lot of change in the Apiculture (beekeeping) industry over this time. Many new threats to bees reached NZ and he had to stay on top of the game to protect his bees. He did so incredibly well, expanding his hive numbers to cater for the pollination demand. In 2019 it was time for Ray to pass the foundations of Branch Creek Honey to his granddaughter Jess and a new era of Branch Creek Honey was born!
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Jess is fifth generation to live and farm at Branch Creek. She is passionate about farming and beekeeping and how well the two complement each other.
She has completed the New Zealand Apprenticeship in Apiculture, gaining Level 3 & 4 Certificates, the highest beekeeping qualifications in NZ. She was awarded the 2019 Ron Mossop Youth Scholarship in Beekeeping for her efforts. She is also a registered beekeeper with DECA accreditation.
Jess knows that beekeeping isn’t about to get any easier and that education is key to providing our bees with the highest quality care we can.
As seen on OPSM…
We’re honoured to be a part of eyewear company OPSM’s newest campaign ‘Dedicated to Everyday Excellence’ featuring our founder & beekeeper Jess, who stands alongside three other exceptional everyday heroes.
Learn more about Jess’s involvement on OPSM’s website or watch the campaigns short films below.
