Towncentre Taupō is proud to deliver The Spark Business Stella Awards 2022, a celebration of businesses in the Taupō region and the resilience they have shown over the past two years.
Towncentre Taupō general manager Julie McLeod says the past few years have been challenging for businesses.
"These awards are about celebrating those businesses that have ducked, dodged, upskilled, downsized, pivoted, or even oscillated to keep things going through these trying times," Julie says.
To align with this year's theme, the categories and the awards programme format have been updated to encompass a light-hearted and easily digestible approach. She says the categories have more focus on areas of achievement rather than business size or industry.
There are team awards, for businesses that have worked together to stand tall in the face of adversity, and star performer awards for individuals who have shown themselves to be the shining lights of the company.
Taupō District Council Green Gang award is for those businesses that are thinking outside the box to work more sustainably within their industries. Their teams are coming up with clever ways of reducing waste, recycling, re-purposing, supporting other locals, educating the general public and working with other like-minded businesses. The finalists are: •Misfit Garden •MyNoke •SpaceCraft •The Cozy Corner •XOX Floral
Misfit Garden co-owner Jen Long says there is good demand for its subscription service for not-perfect fruit and vegetables that have been rejected by supermarkets. She says her and Sofia Dekovich's business is based on being environmentally conscious.
Jen says its customers are embracing more sustainable ways of living.
The pair deliver "misfit" fruit and vegetables to Taupō locals. She says if it weren't for their business, a lot of the produce they sell would be binned. She says up to 80 per cent of carrots get sold as seconds and are consumed by cattle or go to compost.
"Just because the shape is a bit wonky, or there is a surplus."
They deliver their produce in cardboard boxes, and have an exchange system, so each box is re-used several times before being recycled or going to Jen's worm farm.
"Being a finalist in the Stella Awards is validation for us. We are proud of the path we are on."
The Virtual Legend award is for businesses that have upped their online game since the onset of Covid-19. Julie says some of the finalists have pivoted to trading online, other's have developed customer-friendly websites.
"These businesses regularly produce engaging content, they have grown a following of loyal customers and taken their business to the next level."
The finalists are: •Big Brown Paws Doggy Daycare & Spa •Freedom Tribe Pilates •Hamills Taupo •Misfit Garden •Taupo Toy Library
The Covid-19 pandemic hit Hamills Taupō owners Saran and Amy Tepavac when they were only three to six months into "normal" trading after their shop had burnt down.
In the initial phase of the pandemic they rebuilt their hunting and fishing supply website on another platform. Amy says she would listen to the 3pm Covid-19 update from the Government, and then put the new rules on its website banner.
"We were trying to stay up-to-date with really difficult Covid conditions. We wanted to make it easy for our customers who still wanted our products but were having difficulty navigating the rules."
She says before Covid, they were a bit disconnected from the community around Hamills Taupō. They had a heavy reliance on people coming into the shop and the online shopping "ticked away in the background".
With the new website in place, the pair went on to build a strong Instagram following, and Amy says through social media they began building relationships nationwide.
