GET RECOGNISED FOR YOUR BUSINESS EXCELLENCE!
Are you ready to showcase your business’s achievements and stand out in the Wairarapa?
Choose your preferred entry category below and submit your entry using our easy online form. It’s your time to shine!
2025 Category Criteria:
Gibson Sheat TEAM
The Team award recognises those businesses / organisations that put the wellness and well-being of their people at the forefront of what they do. The judges will be looking for business / organisations that look after the people that work for them. You will need to demonstrate that you employ exceptional well-being practices and provide both support and investment in your people.
Previous winners:
- Eastwood Motor Group
- Clareville Bakery
- Kāhu Environmental
- Rival Wealth
- Inspire Living
- Madison Lincoln Hair & Nails
Harcourts Hamill Realty INNOVATION
This category highlights businesses / organisations that are exploring new ideas, services and products and the judges will be looking for entities who think outside the box. You do not have to be a new business / organisation, but your ideas do need to be innovative.
Previous winners:
- Tranzit Group
- Rebel Bakehouse
- Wairarapa Chiropractic
- Aratoi Museum of Art & History
- My Trucking
- Farman Turkingtoon Forestry
Farman Turkington Forestry DIVERSIFICATION
The Diversification Award recognises outstanding businesses from any sector that have demonstrated exceptional adaptability, resilience, and innovation by successfully pivoting, adapting, or diversifying their products and services.
Judges look for evidence of agility, resilience, and the ability to create new opportunities – whether through new products, services, markets, or operational approaches.
The focus is on sustainable adaptation, where the changes made have resulted in a stronger, more robust business.
Previous Winners (a new Award in 2024):
- Tora Coastal Walk
Kahungunu ki Wairarapa PAKIHI MĀORI
This award recognises and celebrates the success of Pakahi Māori / Māori enterprise. The judges will be looking for those enterprises that make a significant contribution to Māori Enterprise and who go above and beyond to support our community in the workplace.
Previous winners:
- Kāinga Eatery
- The Wairarapa Youth Charitable Trust and The Wairarapa Boxing Academy
- Pipiri Consulting
is aKloeg Family Collective EXPERIENCE
Sponsored by family-owned and run Wairarapa businesses Ten O’clock Cookie Bakery Cafe, The Clareville Bakery, and Famly, this award is presented to those businesses that go above and beyond to provide an exceptional experience and make it a top priority to ensure their visitors, clients and/or customers feel welcomed and looked after. Applicable to all businesses – from sole-traders to large companies – the judges will be looking to understand how the business owners look after themselves, their staff (if they have them), and their returning customers/clients.
Previous Winners (a new Award in 2023)
- Driving Miss Daisy Wairarapa
- Martinborough Pharmacy
Masterton Trust Lands Trust NOT-FOR-PROFIT
This award recognises the support and contribution made by a not-for-profit organisation to the Wairarapa community. The judges will be looking at organisations who are registered as a charity, trust or incorporated society. You will have a clear, defined mission that is impact-driven and aligned to your strategic plan. Your impact needs to be visible and measurable and your finances also need to be transparent, well-managed, and
sustainable.
Previous Winners (a new Award in 2023)
- Masterton Food Bank
- Waiwaste Food Rescue
Tranzit Group VIBRANT
This award features those businesses / organisations that are leaders in Wairarapa’s events and tourism sector. Wairarapa is renowned for putting on great events, both large and small that attract visitors from around the globe. Finalists usually demonstrate one or more of the following elements: a quality offering for visitors to Wairarapa, the execution of a successful marketing campaign, the development of an innovative idea or the potential to grow into a legacy offering in the future.
Previous winners:
- Country Village Heaven
- Wings Over Wairarapa
- Wairarapa Racing Club – Tauherenikau Events Centre
- The White Swan
- Greytown Festival of Christmas
- South Wairarapa Rotary – Martinborough Fair
WBS EMERGING
This award is dedicated to recognising and celebrating the region’s most promising new businesses, shining a spotlight on enterprises that are in their early stages but have already demonstrated outstanding potential, innovation, and a positive impact within the Wairarapa community.
The award is designed to showcase the region’s brightest new businesses, highlighting their achievements, creativity, and contributions to the local economy, and provides a platform for emerging enterprises to gain recognition, build their brand, and inspire others in the business community
Previous winners:
- Reid & Reid
- Under the Stars
- Homegrown Butcher, Deli & Pantry
- Enable Design
- Cycling Tom Bike Shop
- Digital Cactus
2025 SUPREME AWARD
The Supreme Award is the most prestigious honour of the night, recognising the overall standout business from among the winners of all eight award categories. The Supreme Award is presented as the final accolade at the annual awards ceremony, symbolising the pinnacle of business achievement and entrepreneurship in the Wairarapa region.
- Only category winners are eligible for the Supreme Award
- The judging panel assesses each category winner against a broad set of criteria, including business growth, profitability, innovation, community contribution, and the ability to set new benchmarks for the region.
Previous winners:
- Tranzit Group
- Wings Over Wairarapa
- Wairarapa Racing Club – Tauwharenikau Events Centre
- The White Swan Country Hotel
- Greytown Festival of Christmas
- Farman Turkingtin Forestry
Enter your Business using the Form Below:
KEY DATES:
- Entries close 5.00 pm Friday, 29 August 2025.
- 2025 Awards Finalists will be announced at a special event held in September.
- The Grand Finale Gala Dinner will be held at Luna Estate on Thursday, 13 November, with Paddy Gower as Master of Ceremonies
5BUSINESS WAIRARAPA GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES ALL CATEGORY SPONSORS OF THE SPARK BUSINESS HUB WAIRARAPA AWARDS 2025:
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Give us a call on 027 5440 525 or CONTACT US
Business Wairarapa works from the following co-working
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51 Jellicoe Street, Martinborough
PO Box 868, Masterton, 5840