Noodie Foodie is the brainchild of 19-year-old Holly Mathis. Photo / George Novak
Noodie Foodie is the brainchild of 19-year-old Holly Mathis. Photo / George Novak
Budding entrepreneurs turned the country's initial lockdown into opportunity with Tauranga entrepreneurs leading the charge.
During the lockdown which started in March, 142 new businesses were started in Tauranga - the highest relative to the number of existing businesses in New Zealand.
City leaders are optimistic the region will farebetter than others but an economist warns there could be further pain to come as the country faces the worst recession since the Great Depression.
Economist Benje Patterson says there is more pain to come for households. Photo / Supplied
Economist Benje Patterson compiled a report, which shows 3136 businesses were added to the register nationally during level 4 lockdown and Tauranga led the field followed by Auckland, Upper Hutt and Kapiti Coast.
Patterson said the structure of Tauranga's economy had provided a level of resilience against the economic fallout from the pandemic.
Sectors that had performed well included professional, scientific and technical service sectors, the horticulture industry and those aligned with the Port of Tauranga.
"Tauranga's large aged care and healthcare sector will continue to provide employment and business opportunities, as will an ongoing expansion to tertiary education in the city."
The process of change was a friend of entrepreneurship, he said.
"The chaos of disrupted supply chains, new patterns of consumer demand and changing business practices are things that present entrepreneurs with opportunity."
The level of economic disruption to date has been the swiftest and steepest decline ever recorded, Patterson said.
"Looking ahead, there will be a further pain to come for some households, with a second wave of job losses inevitable. Not all the companies started now will be thriving in a year's time.
''Many will inevitably fail, but that's just life when it comes to business. The process of creative destruction, where new and more innovative businesses replace those that fall by the wayside, is what will help propel New Zealand's recovery and long-term productivity."
Figures from economic agency Priority One show 660 new businesses started in Tauranga last year - a 3 per cent increase on 2018.
Priority One chief operating officer Greg Simmonds said it had seen ''many local examples of people creating new businesses. Photo / File
Chief operating officer Greg Simmonds said it had seen "many local examples of people creating new businesses, or pivoting existing ones, either out of necessity or to take advantage of new opportunities in the market".
"However we need to be aware that we're quite early on in a downturn, and there's still a lot of uncertainty ahead. Positively, the number of new job advertisements in the region continue to track upwards, albeit at lower numbers than this time last year."
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Matt Cowley said entrepreneurs were particularly important to Tauranga and due to growth there were always new gaps in the marketplace.
Entrepreneurs are important to Tauranga as we're growing and changing says Tauranga chief executive Matt Cowley. Photo / File
"Covid had caused a significant disruption ... but it would have created many new opportunities for new business ideas to flourish."
The chamber had received mixed feedback "as some businesses were more reliant on open borders than other sectors who are happy with local consumers continuing to support local businesses".
But there would be businesses who have to close due to Covid-19.
"This could be due to a stroke of bad luck, pre-existing issues, or they are unable to adapt to the new marketplace quickly enough. The best thing a business can do is gain expert advice as each business has been impacted by Covid-19 differently."
Noodie Foodie: Expat teen plans business in isolation
Holly Mathis came up with the idea for Noodie Foodie started up during the Covid lockdown. Photo / George Novak
When Holly Mathis flew home from London to escape Covid-19 she spent two weeks in self-isolation thinking.
But the 19-year-old wasn't thinking about all she was missing out on or who she could catch up with when her quarantine lifted. She was planning.
She was also thinking about the environment, her footprint on the planet, continuing her commitment to zero waste and how she could buy local to support local.
All this thinking resulted in some serious action and was the inspiration behind her first business venture, Noodie Foodie.
Mathis said the ethos behind the company is using zero-waste packaging including jars which she picks up and local produce from butchers and greengrocers.
These sit alongside recipes and "basically it's a local food box with zero-waste".
Noodie Foodie is basically it's a local food box with zero waste says founder Holly Mathis. Photo / George Novak
Her journey so far had been "surreal", she said and so far the feedback was positive.
"I did four boxes last week which was pretty cool."
But it hasn't all been plain sailing as a few curveballs brought to light.
"It has been tricky finding meals that will save in a jar and the food registration was a venture."
Moving forward Mathis said her main goal was to raise awareness on sustainability and support local suppliers.
