Liquid gold: Biosota Organics’ Andrey Zubko on the winning formula behind a TREX double

Introduction: In a market where authenticity and rarity increasingly shape purchasing decisions, Biosota Organics has found its sweet spot. The Australian family-owned producer’s blend of premium organic Manuka honey, sustainability and compelling storytelling has delivered a double win at this year’s TREX Awards.

What began in 2016 as a vision to champion Australia’s finest organic Manuka honey has evolved into an award-winning travel retail proposition.

Its travel retail-exclusive (TREX) Certified Organic Manuka Honey MGO 1200+ Gift Box, delivered through collaborations with Heinemann, Lotte Duty Free and long-standing brand ambassador partner Azzurra One, won the Wellbeing category.

Gold in the Collaboration between a Brand and Retailer (and/or Airport) category rounded out the company’s double success, awarded to the Year of the Snake Manuka Honey MGO 1717+ Gift Box, in partnership with Heinemann.

The Moodie Davitt Report sits down with Founder and CEO Andrey Zubko to talk bees, badges and what it takes to sell honey next to XO Cognac.

The Moodie Davitt Report: Congratulations on a remarkable double at the 2026 TREX Awards. What does this recognition mean to you and the family behind Biosota?

Andrey Zubko: Thank you. Beekeeping has been in our family for three generations, from my grandfather in Eastern Europe to our apiary in Queensland, Australia.

This award belongs to everyone who believed a jar of honey could sit alongside the finest Cognac and win the traveller’s heart. Instead of gifting wine or whisky, Manuka honey is a unique gift of health and prosperity.

The judges compared the winning gift box to the panache of Louis Vuitton or Dior. What exactly is inside it?

The Certified Organic Manuka Honey MGO 1200+ Gift Box showcases the world’s highest MGO-rated Certified Organic Manuka honey, responsibly sourced from remote Australian forests and independently tested for potency and purity.

Each 500g jar is presented in premium recyclable Miron violet glass within an elegant gift box exclusive to travel retail, completed with a temperature-sensor lid for real-time monitoring and a premium honey dipper. The long-life, reusable glass supports circular packaging principles, which the judges singled out for praise.

“What is there NOT to like about this extraordinary product and the collaboration with Heinemann that brought the TREX to life? In a health-conscious age, this is a brilliant and refined luxury gift, presented with all the panache and elegance you would expect of, say, a Louis Vuitton or Dior.”

– TREX Judging Panel

Biosota chose to build a travel retail-exclusive range rather than transplant its domestic products onto airport shelves. Why did you make this decision?

That strategy was set out when we first entered the channel. Travel retail deserves its own stage. Our ultra-premium expressions, topped by the MGO 2000+ that retails above prestige XO Cognac and rare Scotch whisky, position Manuka honey as the Champagne of the fine-dining world.

The traveller is looking for something meaningful to bring home, and a world-first exclusive tells them this gift could not have come from anywhere else.

The Gold Award celebrated your Lunar New Year collaboration with Heinemann at Sydney Airport. How did that activation come together?

Heinemann Tax & Duty Free at Sydney Airport was our launch retailer in the channel, so it was fitting to create something special together. For Lunar New Year we staged an activation around a limited-edition Year of the Snake, placing premium Australian Manuka honey within a culturally aligned gifting environment at one of travel retail’s key seasonal moments.

Standing alongside entries from the likes of Estée Lauder, Moncler, Saint Laurent and The Glenlivet made the Gold even sweeter.

The judges noted all four of our shared objectives were met: capturing Lunar New Year gifting demand among Asian travellers, premiumising the travel retail wellbeing category, differentiating through seasonal exclusivity and strengthening retailer-brand collaboration.

None of this happens without people at the shelf. What role has Azzurra One played?

Since 2023 we have partnered with Azzurra One Enterprise, the Sydney-based retail services specialist led by Executive Director Toni Martello, whose brand ambassador teams represent Biosota across Heinemann and Lotte stores in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

It was Toni’s team that first flagged a decisive post-pandemic trend: Asian travellers increasingly directing their spend towards wellness rather than traditional categories such as alcohol. That insight shaped everything that followed.

What comes next for that partnership?

It enters a new phase this month, as Biosota and Azzurra One launch in-store Manuka honey tastings with Heinemann at Sydney Airport, giving travellers a first taste of the award-winning range before they buy.

How is the business performing across the channel?

We have had our strongest start to a year on record in Australian duty-free, and encouraging results have followed through Heinemann at Sydney Airport, Lotte Duty Free at Brisbane and Melbourne airports, The Shilla Duty Free at Incheon Airport and IPP Travel Retail in Vietnam.

Interest is growing across China, South Korea, Vietnam, the Middle East and the Americas.

Your stated objective for 2026 was to elevate the MGO 1200+ into the world-class travel retail gifting category. The judges say you achieved it triumphantly. Where do you go from here?

With two TREX honours on the shelf, our sights are now set on new gateways serving the wellness-minded traveller. I am fond of quoting Lao Tzu: ‘A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.’

Ten years after the first Biosota hives, that journey has reached the world’s duty-free shelves, and it is only gathering pace. We are working on interesting product collaborations and plan to launch new limited-edition releases this year. Watch this space. ✈

Discover all the TREX Awards winners:
TREX Awards winners (1): Children’s Products, Confectionery & Food, Cosmetics
TREX Awards winners (2): Destination Merchandise, Fashion and Accessories, Fragrances
TREX Awards winners (3): Spirits, Tobacco and Smoke-Free Products, Wellbeing, Wine
TREX Awards winners (4): TREX Marketing Campaign, Best TREX-Related Communications and Concept
TREX Awards winners (5): TREX Collaboration between a Brand and Retailer (and/or Airport), Best CSR-Related TREX, The Patagotitan Award