The ‘Simpatico Lavender and Rosemary’ won nine of 12 awards from the New Zealand Lavender Growers Association awards night (NZLGA) held in Wellington.
“Our business normally does well in these competitions, but this year we won nine awards out of twelve and that’s almost unheard of,” says Eloise Kelly, manager of her family’s farm in Brightwater.
They are BioGro, organically certified lavender and saffrongrowers. BioGro has been New Zealand’s leading organic certifier since 1983 and it gives consumers trust in the mark of a genuine organic product.
Eloise says the pride with which products are produced creates a superior product.
“I think it’s the time and care we put into our product and that it is organic. Mum has done a lot of research. Lots of different elements make good oil. It can be the weather, the soil and we are also lucky for where we are. Everything contributes, really.”
The whole farm is BioGro certified and it also produces good quality saffron, through the brand ‘Saffron Wonder’.
“My parents bought the property about 12 years ago. Their dream was always to be organic. Unfortunately, Dad passed away in 2009. So mum was left thinking ‘what do I do now?” she says.
Their first production was good quality saffron and it led to the lavender. They planted the lavender around the saffron areas as a natural pest controller against the rabbits which were a big problem.
“Then we had a friend who had a cosmetic company and she said: ‘I like your lavender plants and if you make it into oil, I’ll buy the oil from you’.
“So we did that, and then we got in touch with the Lavender Growers Association, and they’ve been fantastic,” says Eloise.
Eloise is now proudly one of the association judges and is pleased to advise another step forward for the industry locally.
“The NZLGA is holding a conference in Nelson in August 2020,” she says.