A team from Woodford House has won this year’s Young Enterprise Scheme for their product – an environmentally friendly fruit label.
Sarah Wixon, Rylie Bensemann, Zoe Rookes and Maggie Peacock featured in the previous issue of The Profit and took out the top award for their water soluable sticker that aims to reduce waste and encourage consumers to wash their fruit.
65 Hawke’s Bay YES (Young Enterprise Scheme) teams started up a business this year with each team coming up with an idea of a product or service and then undertaking market research to see if their great idea would sell and then took it to market.
The teams came from 15 Hawke’s Bay secondary schools and were either year 12 or 13 (6th & 7th form). Over the course of eight months students completed three YES challenges which determined the top six teams in the region. These top six teams competed in the YES finals on 24 October at EIT.
The top six Hawke’s Bay teams were;
- Empressa Central Central Hawke’s Bay College
- MyTapp Woodford House
- Poncho Me Iona
- Project Rangatahi EIT Business Enterprise Unit
- Bayuble Woodford House
- Lightning Lock Hastings Christian School
The competition was fierce, and the judge’s decision was a tough one as the team results were so close. “We didn’t know who the Hawke’s Bay Champion was until the last moment as the judges were torn and therefore had many discussions before a winner was chosen” says Karla Lee, Hawke’s Bay YES Regional Coordinator. However, there could be only one winner and the team who took the overall title was Bayuble from Woodford House.
Bayuble have created an alternative label to stickers for fruit. The team impressed the judges with their strong presentation, innovative product and commitment to research. Bayuble will now be offered the opportunity to pitch at the Pan Pac Hawke’s Bay Business Awards on Friday 16th November to fine tune their delivery before heading to Wellington to represent Hawke’s Bay on Thursday 6th December where they will compete against 20 other New Zealand regions.
Hawke’s Bay also have two teams that won National Excellence Awards. The teams were not told which award they have won but they are both invited to Wellington in December to accept their respective award. These teams are;
- George St Johns College
- Letz Lead Hawke’s Bay Prison
The finals and awards are a celebration for YES teams “the awards evening highlights the brilliant work of our youth in Hawke’s Bay and what the future holds. It takes courage and hard work to achieve the results these teams have accomplished and I couldn’t be more proud of these amazing young entrepreneurs” says Karla Lee.
If you were unable to see the evening in person, you have the opportunity to see it on the Hawke’s Bay Chamber of Commerce facebook page https://www.facebook.com/hawkesbaychamber/
You can also see Bayuble pitch at the Pan Pac Hawke’s Bay Business Awards that are open to the public. For tickets please go to https://www.hawkesbaychamber.co.nz/
