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All Blacks help kickstart new local business

A small Hawke’s Bay business has been able to use some heavy weights influencers to help launch their business. Sensory Haven 4 Kids sells quality, affordable products that can provide comfort and security for both children and adults who are challenged by Sensory Processing Disorders, Anxiety, Fetal alcohol disorder, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), Dementia and Autism.

Business owners Lynair Bergman and Angela Howlett launched the business in February 2020 and became one of 100 businesses across New Zealand that got to use the marketing grunt of the All Blacks and ASB Bank to launch their products.

“We created the business because we have always had a passion for working with and supporting children and adults with sensory differences.

The products that were available on the market were hugely expensive which made them unreachable for many of the families we worked with. This was the driving factor to starting the business.”

Although some may think the timing of a launching a business wasn’t ideal, just business prior to a six week lockdown, thanks to ASB’s Borrow the All Blacks campaign, the idea of getting one of the world’s most recognisable brands, the All Blacks, helping out, is something that is usually well out of reach for small businesses.

“When the All Blacks competition came along  we were looking for ways to promote our business and thought what better way to promote ourselves than to have NZ’s sporting stars showcase what we have to offer.  “COVID lockdown allowed us the time to stop and think about our passion and what we wanted to do. We knew there was a need for reasonably priced products to support children and adults with sensory processing differences.

“We researched and sourced online quality affordable products and for the items we couldn’t access we found people within the community that helped us to have these products made locally. “Having the All Blacks involved was hugely exciting  and a real privilege to have them showcasing some of our products. It means further exposure for us and will draw attention to what our business has to offer.   The business is now kicking goals and they’re confident that they’ve got a product range that’s making a positive difference.

We know that our products will make a real difference in people’s lives as already we have had some fabulous reviews, and the positive changes they have made. “We would like to thank you ASB and the All Blacks very much for the opportunity. ASB reviewed nearly 2000 entries to select the 100 small to medium Kiwi businesses that will get a share of the bank’s New Zealand Rugby sponsorship through the ASB Borrow the All Blacks campaign. The bank’s executive general manager of Business Banking, Tim Deane, says the campaign was an innovative way the bank can lend a hand beyond the financial. “Borrow the All Blacks is our way of lending more than just money to hardworking SMEs who are the very backbone of New Zealand’s economy.