ExportNZ ASB Hawke’s Bay Export Awards 2025

ContainerCo Best Emerging Business Award recognises success by net return to the New Zealand economy for businesses with a total annual revenue under NZD $7 million.

Detailed Entry Criteria:

1. The businesses eligible to enter will have been engaged in generating significant export earnings for that business and New Zealand up to NZD $7 million.

Examples of businesses that ARE eligible include:

• Any manufacturer and exporter of products
• Any marketer who exports someone else’s products
• Any exporter of services. This includes bringing people to New Zealand, e.g., tourists or

Examples of businesses that ARE NOT eligible include:

• Importers of goods or services
• Unrelated companies which supply product(s) for someone else to export
• Traders who solely buy finished product(s) in one offshore country for sale in another

If unsure of your company’s eligibility ask—

Is this business receiving a significant part of their turnover in foreign currency and are they doing at least one of the following:

• Marketing overseas?
• Travelling offshore to promote the company?
• Appointing offshore representation?

2. The business must administer and manage the export operation from within the catchment area detailed on the Administration of export operations include:

• Any export business owned and operated in the catchment area
• Any business exporting products produced in other regions providing the trading is managed from the catchment area
• Any subsidiary of a business located elsewhere provided that the catchment area subsidiary manages its own exports

3. ExportNZ Hawke’s Bay has sole discretion to accept or decline an entry.

T&G Global Best Established Business Award recognises success by net return to the New Zealand economy for businesses with a total annual revenue of over NZD$7 million.

Detailed Entry Criteria:

1. The businesses eligible to enter will have been engaged in generating significant export earnings for that business and New Zealand over NZD $7 million.

Examples of businesses that ARE eligible include:

• Any manufacturer and exporter of products
• Any marketer who exports someone else’s products
• Any exporter of services. This includes bringing people to New Zealand, e.g., tourists or

Examples of businesses that ARE NOT eligible include:

• Importers of goods or services
• Unrelated companies which supply product(s) for someone else to export
• Traders who solely buy finished product(s) in one offshore country for sale in another

If unsure of your company’s eligibility ask—

Is this business receiving a significant part of their turnover in foreign currency and are they doing at least one of the following:

• Marketing overseas?
• Travelling offshore to promote the company?
• Appointing offshore representation?

2. The business must administer and manage the export operation from within the catchment area detailed on the Administration of export operations include:

• Any export business owned and operated in the catchment area
• Any business exporting products produced in other regions providing the trading is managed from the catchment area
• Any subsidiary of a business located elsewhere provided that the catchment area subsidiary manages its own exports

3. ExportNZ Hawke’s Bay has sole discretion to accept or decline an entry. 

The ZIWI Excellence in Innovation Award recognises success in developing and commercialising innovation in international markets; incorporating intellectual property, strategy, processes and monitoring.

Detailed Entry Criteria:

1. The businesses eligible to enter will have been engaged in generating significant export earnings for that business and New Zealand.

Examples of businesses that ARE eligible include:

• Any manufacturer and exporter of products
• Any marketer who exports someone else’s products
• Any exporter of services. This includes bringing people to New Zealand, e.g., tourists or

Examples of businesses that ARE NOT eligible include:

• Importers of goods or services
• Unrelated companies which supply product(s) for someone else to export
• Traders who solely buy finished product(s) in one offshore country for sale in another

If unsure of your company’s eligibility ask—

Is this business receiving a significant part of their turnover in foreign currency and are they doing at least one of the following:

• Marketing overseas?
• Travelling offshore to promote the company?
• Appointing offshore representation?

2. The business must administer and manage the export operation from within the catchment area detailed futher below

Administration of export operations include:

• Any export business owned and operated in the catchment area
• Any business exporting products produced in other regions providing the trading is managed from the catchment area
• Any subsidiary of a business located elsewhere provided that the catchment area subsidiary manages its own exports

3. The business must demonstrate a product, pathway, positioning, promotion or pricing approach that is innovative in the way in which it has been applied in the business.

4. ExportNZ Hawke’s Bay has sole discretion to accept or decline an entry.

The NZME Service to Export Award recognises and honours an individual, who may or may not be directly involved with exporting, but in the view of the judges has made a significant contribution to exporting success of others in the region.

This individual will have:

• Made an outstanding contribution to exporting success within Hawke’s Bay or Gisborne (or both).
• Assisted or is assisting in developing international recognition for Hawke’s Bay or Gisborne (or both).
• May have provided mentoring or assistance to other exporters
• Entry into this award is through nomination only.

Detailed Entry Criteria:

• Entry into this award is through nomination only, you can nominate yourself.
• Entrants in the ‘Best Emerging Business’, ‘Excellence in Innovation’ and ‘Best Medium to Large Business’ categories may also enter this award.
• A nominee may come from any Hawke’s Bay or Gisborne/ Tairawhiti based company and hold any position within that company.
• Nominations are confidential.
• ExportNZ Hawke’s Bay has sole discretion to accept or decline an entry.

Every successful enterprise has a visionary leader to whom the accolades normally fall, but the committed people who implement their vision through growth, often go unnoticed.

The Napier Port Unsung Heroes Award provides an exporter the opportunity to recognise an individual within their own business who makes a huge contribution to their export success. These nominees are often the unsung heroes of your business and may sit at any level within your organisation.

The information to be provided by the Nominator is designed to provide judges with insight into the individual Export Achiever Nominee’s contribution to export processes, products or technologies, team dynamics and ultimately result in export growth and profitability.

Detailed Entry Criteria:

• Entry into this award is through nomination only, you can nominate yourself.
• Entrants in the ‘Best Emerging Business’, ‘Excellence in Innovation’ and ‘Best Medium to Large Business’ categories may also enter this award.
• A nominee may come from any Hawke’s Bay or Gisborne/ Tairawhiti based export or related services company and hold any position within that company.
• Nominations are confidential.
• ExportNZ Hawke’s Bay has sole discretion to accept or decline an entry.

The winner of the ASB Exporter of the Year award will be one of the winners from the previous four categories and will have demonstrated sustained and outstanding performance and results in terms of:

The business will have demonstrated sustained and outstanding performance and results in terms of:

• Earnings, growth and profit
• Leadership and direction
• Excellence in marketing
• Strategy and business planning
• Commitment to quality management
• Governance