Activist

ACTIVIST® is a Manuka honey company founded by husband and wife team Luke Harwood and Gabrielle Mirkin. Both have a shared passion for the earth, and their natural products can be traced to their childhoods in New Zealand.

Luke’s love of surfing and the native coastal land of New Zealand lead him to understand the important role bees play as environmental indicators; the founding catalyst for ACTIVIST®. Gabrielle’s time in New York City working as a senior Art Director at Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar eventually led to a slowdown, and the pursuit of new interests outside of the fast-paced world of fashion publications. Gabrielle’s focus on good health, mindfulness and food-based natural healing therapies was a central driver for the development of ACTIVIST®.

Based between California and New Zealand, Luke and Gabrielle have built a natural and transparent company as an extension of their lifestyle. Their involvement is far-reaching: from establishing relationships with the bee-keepers, to product innovation, to building relationships with customers and global retailers. ACTIVIST® utilises Mother Nature and its seasonal cycles, symbiotic relationships and microclimates, to cultivate the basis of its products - all with an origin and story traced back to their home, New Zealand.