About Us

little hands honey

Our Story

Little Hands Honey is a family apiary business based in Papamoa in the Bay of Plenty. The business is built on a desire to provide Kiwis with pure yet affordable honey straight from the beehive. And the beehives do more for their community than deliver this special superfood; they help to pollinate local green and gold kiwifruit.

It all started in 2020 when Virgil decided to use his extensive beekeeping experience to care for his own beehives. Wife Carmen was by his side finding sustainable ways to bring the superfood to people’s tables. The pair took their range of honey to local markets, including Papamoa Farmers’ Market, where it proved popular. This is when Little Hands Honey began to take flight.

The pair’s children quickly caught the bug and shared their father’s lifelong passion for beekeeping. Three-year-old Victoria and two-year-old Stephan love to watch the bees and give their dad a helping hand when they can.

Virgil and Carmen want to inspire the next generation of apiarists and teach their children to go back to basics and appreciate what nature has to offer.

Photo of Virgil

Virgil Parlea

Little Hands Honey founder Virgil has more than 28 years of experience in beekeeping. At just 14 years old, while living in Romania, he built and maintained his first beehive. Virgil’s passion for apiculture blossomed thanks to his beekeeper grandfather.

Photo of Carmen

Carmen Cristescu

Carmen joined her husband Virgil when he moved to New Zealand for a beekeeping job at a reputable beekeeping company. When the pair started their own honey business, Carmen brought her creativity with infused honey creations.

customer testimonials

Hear What Others Say

Little’s hands honey is by far the best honey I’ve ever had. When I first tried their vanilla honey it changed my world. I put it in my coffee and it was a magical experience. We love little hands honey because it is raw and the natural flavour options they offer are all truly amazing.
Sam BurchPapamoa
Hands down! (Pun intended !) Little Hands honey has got to be the most amazing honey I have had the pleasure of tasting! The beautiful notes of vanilla (big fan of the vanilla infused honey) that accompany the raw natural organic essence of carefully cultivated nectar are testament of the environment and eco-system the bees thrive in with in the Bay of Plenty area! As an avid food lover nothing brings me more joy than being connected with my food ! Purchasing a jar of this liquid gold from Carmen all the beautiful love and devotion to her craft certainly oozes out of every spoonful! Natural sugars work wonders for our systems and supplement the type of energy reserves our bodies have been lacking in our diets. For me personally I have been able to add a touch of nature’s goodness into everything from my cups of tea all the way into cakes and such like treats ! I speak highly of Little hands as a product as I believe you won’t ever regret having a go of this beautiful New Zealand, local small-batch honey!
Gideon MarisaPapamoa
We go through vast quantities of honey at our house and Little Hands make the best liquid honey! I buy their honey for my family and we all love it. My daughters particularly love the Bush Blend and the Tawari honey, both liquid. It tastes amazing poured over yogurt, weetbix, blended into smoothies or by itself on toast. The owners are professional and very easy to deal with. I very much recommend giving this family business a try.
Iulia SimtionAuckland
Me and my kids love the vanilla honey! It's So beautiful and amazing on top of cereal and popcorn yum!
MaryKatikati
I first tried little hands honey a few months ago. Our family favorite is the Infused Vanilla. Its great to have a teaspoon a day or on toast for breakfast. My kids believe its the best honey they've ever tasted and I have to agree.
James LowesPapamoa
Little Hands honey is hands down the best honey I’ve ever tasted! The Vanilla infused honey is my favourite, followed closely by Cinnamon infused. I love adding it to my herbal teas, on toast or over cereal and use it quite a bit in my baking too.  Love supporting this small local family business and appreciate their passion and love in bringing their products to life.
AlexPapamoa
Previous
Next