MN8 says Mānuka Gold Extract outperforms vitamin C for anti-aging skin care

MN8 creates Mānuka Gold Extract to provide anti-inflammatory and healing properties in skin care products. 

“Mānuka Gold Extract is the first cold-extracted and most bio-available and complete version of mānuka to hit the market. It’s mānuka in its ultimate form,” Jaxon Dobson, MN8 founder, tells Personal Care Insights.

“People will see our results when they begin to incorporate our products into their daily skin care routine, which will set the standard and demand for MN8 and Mānuka Gold Extract.”

Mānuka is known for its monofloral honey, produced from the tree’s nectar. The company transformed 120 acres of deteriorated dairy pasture into a “regenerative botanical ecosystem” of native mānuka trees.

MN8 says it pioneered an extraction method, transforming the native mānuka plant into an extract that’s “60 times more powerful” than mānuka honey and “outperforms” ingredients such as vitamin C.

The extract tackles skin concerns such as acne and premature aging, stimulating 59% higher collagen production than vitamin C. The product line is released in limited quantities, as the resources are collected on a family farm in Waipu, New Zealand. 

Formulation and challenges

There are critical differences between Mānuka Gold Extract and mānuka oil. For example, Mānuka Gold Extract has four triketones at 35–50% potency average, and mānuka oil averages 10–20%. Triketones are a naturally occurring organic chemical compound known for their antimicrobial properties. Mānuka Gold Extract possesses this triketone up to 10%, while mānuka oil is 0.1–1%. 

Additionally, Mānuka Gold Extract has a more pleasant olfactory profile than mānuka oil due to retained super volatile terpenes. Due to its strong smell, mānuka oil has traditionally been hard to incorporate into facial skin care. MN8 says they have “solved this problem.” Mānuka Gold Extract comes from the Mānuka tree, known for its honey.

Dobson explains that studies still need to be conducted as many other actives are more prolific in Mānuka Gold Extract than mānuka oil, but the benefits are not yet known.

“It is labor-intensive to grow and harvest, how we do without using sprays. We have had to adopt a flock of sheep to manage the weeds for us, which has been a challenge in and of itself. It makes for a healthier ecosystem and helps sequester carbon back into the soil though so very worthwhile.”

“Then the processing is quite intensive too, and we can only process six kilograms of mānuka at a time, so there isn’t a whole lot of this stuff being produced right now, which is why we have gone direct to market with our skin care brand and will be releasing an extensive range of personal care products utilizing Mānuka Gold Extract over the next two years,” Dobson continues.

Future expansion

The product range will launch exclusively in Los Angeles, US, after receiving “excitement among Hollywood’s elite.”

While showing the product to friends, the founder “caught the attention” of actor Henry Golding and influencers like The Unlikely Florist and The Caker.

MN8 plans to expand its Mānuka Gold Extract for therapeutic cosmetics in December.

“Mānuka Gold Extract’s pleasant smell and increased potency should see many more skin care brands beginning to incorporate it into their products. Because of its powerful antimicrobial properties, there will be a huge demand for use in natural deodorants, natural wound care, natural anti-dandruff shampoo and antimicrobial soaps, natural mouthwashes and toothpaste,” concludes Dobson.