Flatwhite brews top business award
Flatwhite, a stunning beachfront restaurant and wedding venue at Waihi Beach, wonthe coveted Business SustainabilityAwardat the2020 Westpac Tauranga Business Awards. The business wasalso a finalist in Business of the Year, Customer Experience and Service Excellence awards.
The finalists and award winners were revealed on Friday night at a Love Local cocktail event, which showcased food and beverages from aroundNewZealand.
The Business SustainabilityAward recognised both the environmental and business aspects of sustainability. The judges felt Flatwhite was especially cognisant of the issues around environmental issues and did a good job of tackling asmanyaspects as possible. In regards to business sustainability, Flatwhite owner AndrewKennedy had transformed a small, rural cafe into adestination location that has had a significant impact on the community in terms of employment, local produce sourcing and flow-on benefits for the broader local economy.
Andrewsaid he and the team were “thrilled” with the result.
“We’re celebrating the hard work put in by the Flatwhite family over manyyears.”
Heilala Vanillawasnamed Business of the Year and alsowon Business, Digital& Technology InnovationAwardand the Manufacturing&/or Distribution Award.
Tauranga Chamber ofCommerce CEOMatt Cowley said hewas delighted to see the business communitycometogether and support local success in what has been a tough year.
“This year would not necessarily be about huge profits and major growth, butmore about our people, thewayeveryone has worked to comethrough the challenges presented andhowwesupported each other to achieve this.”
This year the chamber introduced head facilitator Sven Pannell from KPMGWellington, whospent a full weekvisiting all the entrants and making an initial assessment, before chairing a panel of judges— all wellestablished local business leaders— in a ‘pitch weekend’.
Despite the challenges of 2020, therewas a very high standard of entrants, making the selection process a challenging prospect for the judges. Speaking on behalf of the judges, Sven said, “It’s been an unprecedented year for businesses in the Bay and acrossNewZealand. It has required business leaders to dig deep into their emotional and, often, financial reserves.
“Wefelt that Heilala Vanilla has manyof the characteristicswe see in NewZealand’s highest performing businesses: Adeep understanding of their global customers, what they care about andhowto reach them; a focussed and planned approach to international expansion; and a deeply-held purpose to transform the future of their vanilla-growing partners in Tonga.
“They continue to innovate, and so the panel is excited to see what’s in store next for this team.”
Twonewawards were introduced — Continuous Improvement/Lean, which recognises the need to be improving processes and systems to gain the productivity benefit. The inaugural winner was Bake Shack. The secondnewaward, the People & CultureAwardwonby public vote wasMount Skin and Body. Mainfreightwas recognised for their Corporate Leadership.