Indigenous Social Marketing: The Mānuka Honey Pūrākau (Māori narrative)
Date
Authors
Phillips, Megan
Henry, Ella
Supervisor
Item type
Journal Article
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Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Emerald
Abstract
Purpose: This paper aims to examine the appropriation of Te Reo (Māori language) by Manuka honey producers to support a billion-dollar industry. It critiques the failure of New Zealand and Australian producers – and successive governments – to acknowledge the cultural significance of the word “Manuka,” despite recommendations from the Waitangi Tribunal. Through an Indigenous Māori lens, it challenges the ongoing colonial agenda that disempowers Māori (Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand) mana and tino rangatiratanga (self-determination) over language and culture. Design/methodology/approach: Using a Kaupapa Māori approach focused on purakau (Māori narrative, akin to narrative inquiry) and reflexivity, the paper presents the Mānuka honey pūrākāū from a Māori perspective. Findings: Applying Kaupapa Māori ethics (Whakapapa, Tika, Manaakitanga, Mana) to the Manuka purakau reveals the unauthorised and misuse of kupu (term) Maori by marketers. While the term “Manuka” can enhance product value, a lack of consultation and kaitiakitanga (guardianship) with Māori communities undermines whakapapa (relationships) and reflects cultural insensitivity (not tika or manaakitanga). This appropriation disrespects Māori heritage and limits economic benefits from cultural taonga (treasures). Social implications: The paper recommends strengthening cultural competency, fostering genuine co-production and advocating for structural change. It calls on social marketing practitioners, educators, policymakers and researchers to uphold Maori rights, respect taonga and actively support tino rangatiratanga (self-determination). Originality/value: This paper introduces purakau as a decolonial methodology and ethical tool in social marketing. It presents a definition of Indigenous Social Marketing and provides an indigenous-led counter-narrative to dominant social marketing logics. It contributes a rights-based, culturally accountable ethical framework for social marketers working in Indigenous social marketing contexts, particularly with Maori.Description
Keywords
35 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services, 3507 Strategy, Management and Organisational Behaviour, 1505 Marketing, 1608 Sociology, 3506 Marketing, Indigenous social marketing, Pūrākau, Mānuka, Māori ethics, Kaupapa Māori, Decolonising marketing, Indigenous storytelling
Source
Journal of Social Marketing, ISSN: 2042-6763 (Print); 2042-6771 (Online), Emerald, 16(2), 255-290. doi: 10.1108/jsocm-04-2025-0111
Rights statement
© 2026 Megan Phillips and Ella Henry. Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/