Tauranga Business Awards
The Awards highlight the Western Bay’s rising stars and industry leaders.
Don’t wait for the economy to improve. The judges like celebrating those who have taken calculated risks and are building something special and enduring. Success looks different for every organisation.
Entries for the 2027 Awards are open until 12 October 2026 at 11:59 pm.
If you have any questions about entering, or nominating someone, please email events@tauranga.org.nz
Award Categories
There are three types of categories:
- Sector Excellence
- Business Practices
- Public and Judges’ Choice
If you have any questions, or would like to nominate a business to enter, please email events@tauranga.org.nz
Sector Excellence
Best Emerging Business Sponsor: Toi Ohomai
Recognises exciting new businesses that are gaining traction, growing revenue, and showing strong future potential. This category is for businesses doing things differently, setting ambitious goals, and delivering with excellence. Judges are looking for businesses that are building something real, sustainable, and worth watching in the future.
You should enter if you:
- are building something new with strong growth potential. Judges may use their discretion if your business has recently acquired, or been acquired by, another business that has been trading for longer.
- have been earning revenue for three years or less. Note: your company may have started earlier than 3-years, but you’ve spent most of it in R&D, testing, or other pre-revenue activities before launching commercially.
Excellence in Professional Services Sponsor: University of Waikato
Recognises professional services businesses that deliver trusted expertise, strong client outcomes, and meaningful value for the organisations or people they support. This category celebrates firms that combine specialist knowledge with excellent service, smart advice, and a clear focus on client success.
You should enter if you:
- provide expert advice or specialist professional services, such as legal, accounting, consulting, engineering, marketing, technology, HR, or business advisory
- have built a strong reputation for service and trust
- are improving how professional services are delivered
Excellence in International Trade Sponsor: Zespri International
Recognises businesses using international trade to drive sustainable growth, whether through exporting, importing, or both. This category celebrates local businesses building strong offshore customer, supplier, or partner relationships through products, services, technology, or global supply chains.
You should enter if you:
- export or import products, services, or technology
- are growing through international markets or supply chains
- can show offshore traction, partnerships, or impact
- have a clear international trade strategy
Excellence in Innovation Sponsor: 2degrees
Recognises businesses developing clever, scalable solutions that have solved real customer problems, commercialised their R&D and testing, and unlocked meaningful market opportunities. Your innovation may be a product, service, technology, process, or business model.
You should enter if you:
- have developed a clever solution to a customer problem or opportunity
- are building something new or significantly better with scalable growth potential
- can show evidence your innovation is being tested, adopted, sold, or used in the market
- are doing something groundbreaking that is a gamechanger for your customers
Industry Trailblazer Sponsor: Mercury Baypark
Recognises established businesses that are setting the pace in their industry. This category celebrates businesses that are not just performing well, but lifting standards, creating new value for customers, and showing what exceptional looks like in their field.
You should enter if you:
- are leading your industry forward
- deliver standout value for customers
- can show strong performance and momentum
- are raising standards in your sector
- do not fit neatly into another specialist category, such as innovation, emerging, international trade, professional services, or AI.
Excellence in Māori and Pasifika Business Sponsors: Sequal and Pacific Growth Services
Recognises Māori and Pasifika-owned businesses in Tauranga Moana and the Western Bay of Plenty that show strong business performance, cultural values, and positive community impact. This category celebrates businesses that combine commercial acumen with a commitment to whānau, community, culture, and long-term legacy.
You should enter if you:
- are a Māori or Pasifika-owned business
- can show strong business performance or progress
- embed cultural values in how you operate
- support positive outcomes for your people, whānau, customers, or community.
Business Practice
Excellent Woman in Leadership Sponsor: Cooney Lees Morgan
This category is for individuals. It recognises women in senior leadership whose influence reaches beyond their role, organisation, or region. It celebrates leaders making a significant impact in business, industry, governance, or the community, while helping open doors for other women to lead and succeed.
You should enter if you:
- Hold a senior position in your organisation.
- Have demonstrated significant leadership that has contributed to the strategic success, growth, innovation, or transformation of your organisation.
- Are recognised as an influential leader within your industry, profession, or community.
- Are seen as an advocate for women in business.
- Actively mentor other women (either in or outside your organisation).
- Are seen as a leadership role model for women
Excellence in Marketing Impact Sponsor: KingSt Advertising
Recognises organisations that have delivered a marketing campaign or initiative that achieved clear, meaningful impact. This category celebrates smart strategy, strong creative, effective communication, and measurable results, whether the campaign was local, national, or international.
You should enter if you:
- are a public, private or not-for-profit entity
- delivered a campaign that reached and resonated with the right audience
- can show clear results, not just activity
- used strong insight, strategy, creativity, or storytelling
- improved brand awareness, engagement, sales, behaviour, participation, or community impact
Excellence in AI Adoption and Impact Sponsor: Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
Recognises businesses that have embedded AI into their core operations to improve performance, customer value, and growth. This category celebrates practical, responsible AI adoption that strengthens the business while improving how customers are attracted, served, engaged, and retained.
You should enter if you:
- have integrated AI into how your core business operates
- can show measurable gains for your customers and the business
- have improved your product, service, experience, or decision-making
- are using AI to create value, not simply cut costs
Public & Judges’ Choice
People’s Choice Award Sponsor: Bay of Plenty Times
While all other categories are decided by our independent judges panel, this award is voted by the public. Stay tuned for more information.
Tauranga Business of the Year Sponsor: Deloitte and Farmer Autovillage
The judges will decide which category winner most deserves to be named Tauranga’s Business of the Year.
Check out last year's winners
See why the judges crowned Syos Aerospace as Tauranga’s Supreme Business of the Year in 2026, recognising their rapid growth, innovation, and impact.
You can also see the other Award winners.
2026 Finalists
Latest News
People’s Choice – powered by NZME
Event Partners
Tauranga Business Awards, proudly supported by Deloitte and Farmer Autovillage, identifies industry change-makers and role models for others to strive for their own success.
Thank you to all our sponsors and event partners. Your support allows the region to celebrate our local business success and broadcast it across New Zealand.
About the Awards
Entries open
Entries open for Bay of Plenty businesses on 1 September 2026.
It’s time to put your business in the spotlight. Nominate or submit your entry and showcase your achievements, growth and contribution to the Bay’s business community.
Entries close 12 October 2026 – there will be no extensions this year.
Judging begins
Your submitted entry will be reviewed by our independent judges. The judging panel will be confirmed when the finalists are announced.
All entries are strictly confidential, with judges declaring any conflicts of interest. Judges’ decisions are final.
Finalists announced
Finalists will be revealed by late October. Finalists will then present to the judges panel in mid-November, where they can tell their story in person and go into more detail.
Details on how the public can vote for the People’s Choice category winner will be shared in November.
The ceremony
The journey comes to a grand finale on 18 March 2027 with the awards ceremony and gala dinner.
The region’s business and community leaders come together to discover our rising stars and celebrate industry role models.
Frequently asked questions
Who can enter the awards?
Tauranga Business Awards are about shining a light on inspiring local businesses and leaders.
You just need to be a GST registered entity, and be primarily based within the wider Tauranga and western Bay of Plenty region.
Government entities, publicly-owned entities, trusts, and not-for-profits are able to enter relevant categories, except where they do not meet the eligibility criteria, such as the manufacturing, international trade, Maori/Pasifika, and emerging business categories.
Whether you’ve been in business for 12 months or 12 years (and some), this is your time to reflect on your business – with your team – and be recognised for where you’ve been, where you are, and where you’re heading.
What if I’m not a member of the Chamber – can I still apply?
Yes, absolutely!! Our independent judges don’t know (and wouldn’t care) whether you’re a Chamber member or not. They judge each entry on their merits.
You just need to be eligible for each category, including a GST registered entity, and be primarily based within the wider Tauranga and western Bay of Plenty region.
Can I nominate a women for the leadership category if the business is NOT located in the Western Bay?
Yes, as long as the employee is primarily based in the Western Bay.
Why enter the awards?
It’s a great opportunity to pause for a moment and reflect with your team on everything that you’ve achieved in your journey to-date. It’s an opportunity to recognise and celebrate all the milestones and achievements that have led to where you are now.
Being a finalist in a category is a huge moral booster for your team, let alone if you win.
This is an opportunity to test yourself and your business, to benchmark yourself against the best of the best, and seek opportunities for growth and development.
Every finalist has a spotlight shined on them, where people get to recognise and celebrate your success in a public forum.
Feedback from prior entrants tell us the process, from entry to the awards evening, is a great opportunity to energise and motivate your team by reflecting on your business successes and setting new goals.
You’ll also gain media recognition and elevate the profile of your business and brand.
Even if you don’t win, our independent panel of judges endeavour to provide feedback to every finalist.
What does it cost to enter?
There is no charge to enter the business awards and, if a business needs help getting organised, we’re here to assist – email events@tauranga.org.nz
Do I need to be nominated to enter?
No, anyone can enter themselves.
However, if you wish to nominate a business, you can do so by emailing events@tauranga.org.nz. We can keep it anonymous if you wish.
Do I need to submit financial statements?
For some categories, yes.
However, we know it’s been a tough year for many businesses and the judges are not focusing on recent profitability. The judges just need to substantiate your application to avoid surprises and the unlikely scenario that one of our award winners ends up in financial difficulty in the near future.
Can I nominate a local business?
We encourage you to nominate any business that you love, that is eligible for the different categories by emailing events@tauranga.org.nz
We will make contact with them to inform them they have been nominated, and send them a link to the entry form to complete. If they’re interested, we can support them with their entry.
Nominations are confidential, but you are welcome to let the business / individual know you’ve made the nomination and encourage them to enter.
How do I choose which category to enter?
You should choose the category that most suits the emphasis you wish to highlight in your entry. If the judges think you’re better placed in another category, they have discretion to move you.
You can enter as many categories as you like – we encourage you to choose the ones where you think you’ll most shine.
See here for the list of categories.
How can I enter?
Entries for the Tauranga Business Awards 2027 are open until 12 October 2026 at 11.59pm. Finalists will be announced later in October, before they present to the Judges in mid-November.
Click here to start the application form.
If you have any questions at all, please email events@tauranga.org.nz
How do I get tickets to attend the Awards Ceremony on 18 March 2027?
You can purchase tickets through the Tauranga Business Chamber website via our events calendar.
You can also subscribe to the Tauranga Business Chamber e-newsletter to get notified when tickets are available. Click here to subscribe.
Our Sponsors
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