eilala Vanilla won several awards. Ruby Grant (left), Jennifer and Garth Boggiss, Westpac Tauranga commercial manager Clare Basire, Bridget Ensor and Maree Grinlinton. Photo / Salina Galvin Photography
eilala Vanilla won several awards. Ruby Grant (left), Jennifer and Garth Boggiss, Westpac Tauranga commercial manager Clare Basire, Bridget Ensor and Maree Grinlinton. Photo / Salina Galvin Photography
Heilala Vanilla is no stranger to national and international awards but winning on their home ground was a ''real buzz''.
They scooped the prestigious Business of the Year title, alongside the Digital & Technology Innovation Award and the Manufacturing and/or Distribution Award at the Westpac Tauranga Business Awards 2020 onFriday night.
Heilala Vanilla chief executive Jennifer Boggiss credited her team for the honour and said ''we've had quite a year''.
''I think the win is a real validation for some of the decisions we have made," Boggiss said.
She said last year the company invested a lot into its digital platform and direct to consumer website, which proved invaluable when Covid-19 hit.
''We had to do all the backend systems and processes while building the capability of our team that looks after all our digital channels.'
''So that stood us in a really good place when the world changed. And within about three weeks we experienced a huge uplift online and also in retail and at the supermarkets because everybody got into the Covid baking craze.'
She said the Heilala Vanilla team has had to dig deep over the last six months and operated as an essential business during lockdown.
Meanwhile, staff in Tonga stepped up due to travel restrictions and they completed the vanilla harvest by themselves for the first time.
''There has been lots of face time and messaging but they have done an amazing job. In some ways, I think it has empowered them.
''If Covid hadn't happened you know, they maybe wouldn't have had that opportunity. So there were definitely some silver linings that we were in a great position to take advantage of.''
Heilala Vanilla chief executive Jennifer Boggiss with David Maris from Trustpower and her colleague Ruby Grant. Photo / Salina Galvin Photography
Boggiss said she attended the awards without any expectations but it was a real privilege to win.
''From a local community perspective, it was great as we have local shareholders. We have won other awards nationally and overseas but this was in our hometown.''
''We have been on a 12-year journey in Tauranga so it was a bit of a buzz to get that community recognition.''
This week Heilala Vanilla will launch a non-food product which has been five years in the making and the company is also up for the Sustainable Business Network - Resilience in Crisis Award.
The Business Awards judges found Heilala Vanilla had a considered focus on corporate social responsibility, with its mission being to build a better future for the people of Tonga.
It has built a partnership with the Tongan King and the local community of farmers, who all grow and process the vanilla beans.
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Matt Cowley said there was a lot to celebrate after an extraordinary year.
He said Heilala Vanilla had overcome significant issues with supply chain logistics and labour.
''They had a huge amount of barriers they had to overcome. Once people realised that and the success Heilala Vanilla had building up to it - and in the years gone by ... they were the logical winner.''
Heilala Vanilla was an iconic Bay of Plenty and New Zealand business.
''Many locals may underestimate how far their reach actually goes.''
Cowley said the awards were a great opportunity to celebrate all the good that has happened this year despite Covid-19.
''A lot of people really enjoyed their ability to rub shoulders with Tauranga's business elite, the sponsors and award category finalists. There was immense energy in the room because we did away with the fixed seating and everyone really liked walking around the room and meeting so many different people.''
The "Shine like a diamond'' theme was also fitting, he said.
''Diamonds are made from pressure and of course 2020 has put a lot of people under pressure so the theme was spot on.''
About Heilala Vanilla:
* Heilala Vanilla operates a bean-to-bottle process that grew out of an aid project in Tonga by founder John Ross.
* Its main competitors are synthetic products, while its are pure - grown and dried in Tongan in a scientific, unrefined process - and the company is constantly creating new products from the base product.
