Stuff Fibre scoops Tuanz awards

An Auckland cafe is spicing things up by ditching the traditional ‘‘gingerbread man’’ in favour of a more inclusive biscuit.

About a month ago, The Tannery in New Lynn changed the label on its jar of cookies to read: ‘‘gingerbread gender-neutral person’’.

Owner Andre Cettina said the move had been inspired by a customer who questioned why the human-shaped biscuits were called ‘‘gingerbread men’’ and not ‘‘gingerbread people’’. ‘‘It was completely tongue-in-cheek at the start,’’ he said. ‘‘But it has become a really good conversation piece.’’

‘‘We have had a lot of people commenting, saying: stop being so pedantic, it is just a biscuit.’’

But Cettina said he had also had positive feedback from customers who saw the humour in the name change.

‘‘It used to be that 90 per cent of the time we sold [the gingerbread biscuits], it was to kids. There is a lot more people buying them now, which is quite funny.’’

The Tannery is not the only one to have given the gingerbread man a modern makeover.

In April, British supermarket chain Co-op Food announced it was launching a new gingerbread ‘‘person’’. The supermarket ran a campaign asking the public to come up with name ideas for the genderneutral character, who was eventually called: ‘‘Crumbs’’.

Stuff Fibre has won four awards at the Broadband Compare Tuanz Awards, including the supreme award – broadband provider of the year – and the people’s choice.

The broadband provider, wholly owned by Stuff Ltd, also won the innovation award and best fibre broadband provider.

Gavin Male, head judge and chief executive of NZ Compare, said the winners highlighted the growing range of options available to the consumer in the New Zealand broadband market.

‘‘So much has changed and there are more options than ever.’’

He said a range of entries displayed true innovation.

‘‘We were delighted to see consistent commitments to innovation, quality control and customers across New Zealand.’’

Stuff chief executive Sinead Boucher said the four awards were a huge achievement for a brand that has been in the market for only a few years, and showed the commitment of the entire team to gaining a leadership position in fibre.

‘‘The business is doubling its growth year on year and we don’t see this stopping any time soon.’’

The awards are organised by Broadband Compare, a free-to-use broadband comparison website operated by NZ Compare and Tuanz, the independent, not-for-profit association with over 170 corporate and individual members from the telecommunications industry.

‘‘Having launched just three years ago, we are really proud to now be an established player in the highly competitive ultra-fast broadband market,’’ Stuff Fibre general manager Wayne Miller said.

‘‘These wins are great recognition for the team who continue to innovate to make life easier for our customers.’’ One innovation that has proven popular is the Stuff Fibre diagnostic app which empowers customers to test their home wi-fi and easily resolve simple home issues to improve overall performance.

‘‘Our mission is to deliver all Kiwis fast, simple broadband and our secret to success is simple: We focus purely on unlimited fibre rather than complex plans, packages and bundles. We have unbeatable prices and our great Kiwi service means there is a friendly local voice to help customers whenever they need it.’’

Vocus took out wholesaler of the year, while Trustpower won best bundle deal and Farmside best rural provider. The full list of winners can be found at broadbandawards.co.nz/ winners.

Stuff Fibre is owned by Stuff, the publisher of this newspaper.

‘‘The business is doubling its growth year on year and we don’t see this stopping any time soon.’’