Winners 2021
Congratulations to all Finalists and Winners of the 26th Sunshine Coast Business Awards. Whether you were crowned a category winner or not, you now sit amongst the very best of the best businesses on the Sunshine Coast. We are incredibly proud of who you are and what you do for this great region. Read more about our winners below.
Accommodation
Small: NARROW ESCAPE RAINFOREST RETREAT
Narrows Escape Rainforest Retreat is luxury boutique accommodation (TripAdvisor Traveller’s Choice Award 2021 – Most Romantic Hotel in the World) situated in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. We have six villas nestled in pristine rainforest that borders the Kondalilla National Park. The success of our business relies on a combination of our marketing strategy, high attention to detail, excellent personalized customer service, continual property upgrades, working with our local community, being advanced eco-certified with a focus on making each and every guest experience amazing.
Large: RACV NOOSA RESORT
RACV Noosa Resort is nestled on six hectares in the tranquil surrounds of Noosa Heads. 5-star RACV Noosa Resort stylish and spacious one, two and three-bedroom self-contained apartments. Luxury Villas offer their own private pool or rooftop spa. The Resort offers facilities including two heated pools, water slides and splash park, restaurant and sunset bar with wood-fired pizza, a day spa with six treatment rooms, games room, retail shop, gym, flood-lit tennis court, playground and on-site car and bike hire.
Sponsored by: Sunshine Coast Airport
Building & Construction
Small: BECKER CONSTRUCTIONS
Becker Constructions was born as a succession plan from highly regarded and long-standing Caloundra Builder. Formed in 2004 as Dave Becker Constructions the personalised reference to “Dave” was removed to ensure it became a more inclusive family business. Becker Constructions provides customised work relevant to the needs of the individual client. This includes residential and commercial sites, maintenance to constructing luxury homes. Our business is built on word of mouth and the success of our Becker Constructions is underpinned by our values of Integrity, Passion, quality and Excellence.
Large: ADVANCED AQUARIUM TECHNOLOGIES
Advanced Aquarium Technologies designs, constructs, and operates landmark public aquariums. They have delivered projects for zoos and aquariums in over 20 countries, including Den Blå Planet (Denmark), the Oman Aquarium, the Cube Oceanarium in Chengdu, China, and the Ocean Park Grand Aquarium in Hong Kong. Their point of difference is the breadth and depth of their in-house capabilities. Services include feasibility and concept development; customer journey planning; exhibit design; AAT Acrylics –manufacturer of the world’s largest PLEXIGLAS® panels; a range of water quality management equipment; fibre-reinforced polymer tanks; hyper-realistic artificial coral, rockwork and theming; tank waterproofing and animal transportation.
Sponsored by: Walker Corporation
Clean Technology
Small: WASTE FREE SYSTEMS
At Waste Free Systems we are a social enterprise and have reimagined the way waste is organised in SME’s. We supply businesses with smart bin systems to separate waste before it leaves the premises and Repurpose the waste resources wherever possible, saving 90 % of waste from landfill. Our success is driven by innovation and finding solutions to usage of waste resources, we have created our own Social Circular Economy. We lead by education, world first solutions and linking where possible to our local economy and community, our benefit to the environment and our social impact.
Large: AUSSIE TINY HOUSES
Aussie Tiny Houses are passionate about tiny living and providing alternatives to the current housing market. Their team of industry experts has been designing and building Tiny Houses in Australia since 2017. They specialise in optimizing small spaces and designing beautiful, practical and affordable living solutions. Every Tiny House in their wide range of models is designed then built according to the Australian building standard practices. They work closely with all their customers to ensure their needs are met and options explored, bringing their Tiny House dream to life.
Sponsored by: LPE
Creative Industries
Small: 4 INGREDIENTS
4 Ingredients has grown into a very successful publishing company. The original title was self-published in Australia in March 2007. Domestically, its popularity has produced a series of 40 cookbooks, 2 TV series, DVD’s, Cookware, Apps and major endorsements. Internationally, the books are now published on three continents and in six foreign languages with global sales nearing 9 million. 4 Ingredients embraces social media, recognising its ability to influence people, converting customers into loyal advocates.
Large: IN PUBLISHING
IN Publishing is driven by a need to connect the community through storytelling. From its award-winning IN Noosa Magazine that INforms, INdulges and INspires the Noosa community; and Hello Sunshine Magazine that celebrates the Savvy, Surprising and Spirited people of the Sunshine Coast; to its “Everyone has a Story: Conversations from the Sunshine Coast and Noosa” podcast and digital channels; IN Publishing is more than a magazine. It is a passionately locally-owned, environmentally-aware collective that provides a refreshingly authentic voice for the Sunshine Coast and Noosa.
Sponsored by: Noosa Council
Education & Training
Small: THE EIGHTH MILE CONSULTING
The Eighth Mile Consulting is a Veteran run organisation built on a mantra of “Good People, Helping Good People.” Their mission is to collaborate with organisations to improve their people, processes, products and profile. Their education and training is geared towards making people the best versions of themselves, by giving them the skills to engage with the world head-on.
Large: WILDLINGS FOREST SCHOOL
Wildlings Forest School put the dirt back into childhood. They let kids be kids. They are adventure play, risky play, and nature play makers and children’s rights advocates. Their aim at Wildlings is to get more children outdoors connecting with nature, creating the village parents are yearning for and inspiring change in the education system. They have created programs for the next generation of ‘natural’ born leaders and creative thinkers. These programs help develop grit, resilience and other characteristics that will help children become successful people in the real world.
Sponsored by: Sunshine Coast Business Awards
Experiences
Small: RED LOCK ESCAPE ROOMS
Red Lock Escape Rooms provides a fun and unique escape experience on the Sunshine Coast. The escape room experience involves a small group entering one of our immersive themed rooms and they work together to solve puzzles, find clues and unravel mysteries so they can escape before their time runs out! Our themed rooms include Area 51 (escape an alien invasion), Aunt Annie’s Asylum (a thriller experience set in an abandoned Asylum hospital), the Mob Job (a 1960s gangster style Murder mystery), and Bank Heist (an adrenaline-fueled fantasy bank heist experience).
Large: THE GINGER FACTORY
The Ginger Factory, home of Buderim Ginger, Australia’s iconic ginger processor and marketer, has been delighting local, regional, interstate and international visitors for more than 35 years. Attracting around 300,000 visitors annually, it is one of the Sunshine Coast’s most popular tourist attractions, having received numerous awards over the years. Open daily from 9:00am – 5:00pm, The Ginger Factory offers visitors the factory tour & tastings, live bee show & tastings, fun rides, boutique shopping, café and ice creamery all set in lush sub – tropical gardens with a focus on all things ginger and local food tourism.
Sponsored by: Visit Sunshine Coast
Festivals & Events
SUNSHINE COAST LIGHTNING
Sunshine Coast Lightning is an elite sporting organization that competes in the world’s premier netball competition, the Suncorp Super Netball league. Lightning is a joint venture between the University of the Sunshine Coast and NRL Club Melbourne Storm and was founded in August 2016. Lightning’s impact spans multiple sectors, providing international exposure to the Sunshine Coast, contributing to the region as a sports entertainment product, growing regional athlete pathways, promoting healthy living and contributing to community outreach.
@sunshinecoastlightning
Sponsored by: LPE
Food & Agribusiness
Small: GLOBAL BOSS INTERNATIONAL
Global Boss International, under the leadership of 5th generation farmer Danny Hood, has embarked on countless environmental initiatives that place “people first”. A recent self-funded pilot project based at Maleny Dairies showed that, by transitioning to regenerative biological agriculture, our region and its farmers can be confident of the future of this key Sunshine Coast agri-business. The company continues to reach out by way of education, mentoring and establishing projects based on industries that are struggling to continue within the constraints of industrial agriculture. They have an unwavering vision that focusses on a sustainable environment where every child has access to healthy nutritious food.
Large: GOOD HARVEST ORGANIC FARM
Good Harvest Organic Farm, grow, pick, pack and deliver organic produce, from their farm to your family. You can choose from home delivered seasonal organic farm boxes available for weekly or fortnightly delivery or create your own custom box. You can also find them at your local Farmers Markets every weekend – Kawana, Marcoola, Noosa and Northey St Organic Markets. Their Coolum Beach Farm Store is open Wednesday – Saturday stocked with all your freshly harvested, farm direct certified organic produce. Feeding our community and nourishing our planet.
Sponsored by: Stockland
Health & Wellness
Small: STYMIE
Stymie empowers young people to take action when they feel alone, or if they see or experience harm. They can ask for help or make a notification as a bystander for someone else. Stymie provides online reporting for schools. Encrypted, anonymous notifications are delivered within seconds, to authorised recipients who respond according to their wellbeing framework. Suicide ideation, discrimination, anxiety, depression, bullying, self-harm, physical fights, sexual assault, family violence and illegal activity are reported using Stymie. They support psychological safety by empowering young people with the self-belief that they can speak up.
Large: SUNNY STREET
Sunny Street is a mobile volunteer medical outreach service designed specifically for those who are experiencing homelessness and vulnerability and have barriers accessing health care. Through supportive conversations, Sunny Street provides non-judgemental holistic support to their patients. They aim to break down the barriers to accessing health care and empower individuals to make informed choices about their health and wellbeing. They drive sustainable change by educating and involving our community and patients in service design to ensure they are delivering responsive and respectful health care. Sunny Street is a Social Enterprise & supported by volunteers and looks outside the traditional healthcare models to deliver innovative solutions to complex issues and drive sustainable change.
Sponsored by: Buderim Private Hospital
Hospitality
Small: KAALI GOURMET INDIAN RESTAURANT
Kaali Gourmet Indian Restaurant is a small family business on Hastings Street, Noosa, operating since September 2009. Kaali serves classic Indian food and upscale signature dishes designed by highly skilled chefs who each have higher degree qualifications and 5 star hotel restaurant backgrounds and are delighted to showcase their skills and traditional cooking techniques to their guests. Kaali is your escape to a vibrant world of flavours and delicious Indian food served and presented in the most exotic way.
Large: BELLA VENEZIA GROUP
Bella Venezia Restaurant is a Sunshine Coast dining institution and the oldest established restaurant on the Coast – operating on the Mooloolaba Esplanade since 1983. Open 7 days and nights a week, we employ 38 staff, 8 full time. We provide outstanding food and service to over 60,000 customers each year. Bella Venezia Restaurant has won many awards over the past five years and has grown year on year in profit and growth, even recently despite the recent Covid 19 challenges. We were recently voted by Tripadvisor TOP 1% in the World – Number 1 Restaurant for Top Everyday Eats in Australia.
Sponsored by: Portable Creations
Manufacturing
HELITAK FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT
Helitak Fire Fighting Equipment is a Rotary Aerial Firefighting specialist, aerial firefighting design and manufacturing company located on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. Every Helitak tank is custom built and has a carrying capacity that ranges from 945 to 10,000 litres of water and the carbon fibre design means there are no structural modifications required to the aircraft. The innovative design and technology behind Helitak’s expandable water tank quickly drew attention from all over the world and in 2009 The Helitak Fire Tank was featured on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s “New Inventors Program”, earning the winning design and ‘People’s Choice’ awards. In October 2020, Helitak Fire Fighting Equipment added another trophy to their stable taking home a national award at the Australian Technologies Competition.
Sponsored by: Sunquest Signs
Professional Services
Small: HRM CONTRACTING & CONSULTING
HRM Contracting and Consulting is the largest local and privately owned HR and recruitment agency on the Sunshine Coast. Well respected as an industry leader, HRM source exceptionally skilled people for key roles in the administration, manufacturing, consulting, marketing, and hospitality fields, through to specialized areas in the finance, legal and medical sectors. To support businesses, do what they do best, HRM develop employment contracts, policies, procedures and provide performance management services, payroll, team building, training. Finding the right people—managing and keeping them, can be the greatest challenge for business owners, but for us, it’s a space we love to shine in.
Large: TRAVIS SCHULTZ & PARTNERS
Travis Schultz & Partners believe every client should have a chance to tell their story and is entitled to access justice on fair terms with the support of a lawyer. They guarantee No Win, No Fee for all their clients and provide one of the fairest, low-cost structures around. Put simply, their clients receive bigger settlements and lower fees at the end of their claim. They offer cutting edge expertise without the price tag. Their lawyers have unparalleled accreditation and expertise. They are here to help and their team of lawyers offer no-obligation, free initial advice over the phone and by appointment.
Sponsored by: Englander Davis
Retail
Small: PLEASANT STATE
Pleasant State – your next step in the right direction. Pleasant State is working towards a sparkling clean world that’s free of toxic cleaning chemicals and single-use plastics. They have developed Australia’s first just-add-water cleaning bars. Think Berocca but for cleaning. 10 of 15 You might be surprised to know that our everyday cleaning sprays are made up of 97% water. We’ve just taken the 3% active ingredients and formulated a highly effective, plant-based concentrated cleaning bar. All you need to do is add the water to create a multi-purpose, bathroom and glass cleaner. Go on, drop into the revolution!
Large: WHITE’S IGA
The White’s IGA story began almost 30 years ago with a small convenience store in Maroochydore. Roz and Michael White took on their very first store in 1993; a humble 7-day-a-week Nightowl. With a small but hard working team of just 3 employees, it was their first taste at the world of retail, fresh food and groceries. Needless to say it would not be their last. White’s IGA now encompasses 5 unique, market leading, retail-tainment destinations employing 400 local people located at Peregian Beach, Mt Coolum, Bli Bli, Baringa and Mooloolah with a new store on the horizon at Forest Glen.
Sponsored by: Sunshine Coast Chamber Alliance
Social Impact
Small: FOOD & AGRIBUSINESS NETWORK
Food & Agribusiness Network (FAN) is a collaborative ecosystem that empowers its members and industry to grow. Established by the industry for the industry, FAN is a not-for-profit food and beverage cluster that has been operating for five years. FAN will grow the industry by creating an ecosystem that supports collaboration, accelerates innovation and drives trade locally and globally. Today FAN has 300+ members from across the food value chain in the Greater Sunshine Coast region (Gympie, Noosa, Sunshine Coast and Moreton Bay) and is recognised as a leading Australian cluster organisation. Members include growers, manufacturers, retailers, foodservice operators and affiliated services and suppliers.
Large: COAST2BAY HOUSING GROUP
Coast2Bay Housing Group is an award winning, independent, not-for-profit community and affordable housing organisation. We are the largest on the Sunshine Coast and have recently been awarded the highest Tier 1 status by the National Regulatory System for Community Housing. 2021 marks our 30 year anniversary. Annually we provide services to 1,400 individuals and families as tenants and provide homes to 200 homeless people.
Sponsored by: ADFX
Trades and Services
Small: MS MONACO HAIR
Ms Monaco Hair Society is the leading blonde specialists on the Sunshine Coast. Healthy, beautiful hair is their top priority. Their dedicated and highly skilled stylists will take you on a journey like no other, it’s the small touches which all add up to create an experience to remember and we hope you enjoy your time in salon with us. Knowing that your hair is in the best hands of one of highly trained blonde specialists and colour experts allows you to sit back, relax and enjoy your true ‘High Society’ experience.
Large: OFFICE HQ
Office HQ shapes the way thousands of businesses connect with their customers – anytime, anywhere, anyhow. Calls to clients’ phone numbers never ring out, with friendly, professional Sunshine Coast-based receptionists answering them remotely 24/7 if required. This means greater customer satisfaction, more leads/sales and increased revenue, all for a fraction of the cost of employing a full-time receptionist. Constantly innovating and expanding our range of business solutions, which now also include virtual addresses and various specialised services, OfficeHQ helps businesses thrive Australia-wide and internationally. Call answering plans start from just $15 per month, a seven-day free trial available and no lock-in contract.
Sponsored by: Sunshine Coast Chamber Alliance
Export
ADVANCED AQUARIUM TECHNOLOGIES
Advanced Aquarium Technologies designs, constructs, and operates landmark public aquariums. They have delivered projects for zoos and aquariums in over 20 countries, including Den Blå Planet (Denmark), the Oman Aquarium, the Cube Oceanarium in Chengdu, China, and the Ocean Park Grand Aquarium in Hong Kong. Their point of difference is the breadth and depth of their in-house capabilities. Services include feasibility and concept development; customer journey planning; exhibit design; AAT Acrylics –manufacturer of the world’s largest PLEXIGLAS® panels; a range of water quality management equipment; fibre-reinforced polymer tanks; hyper-realistic artificial coral, rockwork and theming; tank waterproofing and animal transportation.
Sponsored by: Sunshine Coast Council
Hall of Fame
COYO
Back in 2010, COYO created the world’s first Coconut Milk Yoghurt, inspiring an entire new food category worldwide. From humble beginnings in founders’ Sandra and Henry’s Yandina kitchen, to a purpose-built factory now employing 55 Sunshine Coast locals. COYO is driven by a purpose of being “Conscious creators of delicious food for healthy people and a happy planet.” and has now become the most awarded Coconut Yoghurt company in the world. COYO is a health and wellness brand providing plant-based functional food to benefit gut health and is available throughout Australia and internationally through its licensee network.
KANGAROO BUS LINES
Kangaroo Bus Lines is a family owned and operated organisation delivering superior service and experiences to the Sunshine Coast. Our business encompasses a wide range of transport solutions and is complemented by our professional coach drivers, a dedicated customer service team and experienced Operational taskforce. Our young, modern fleet is immaculately presented featuring the latest technology and safety features along with other added attributes such as wheelchair accessible options. We are centrally located in Kunda Park near Maroochydore, and together, we have the ability to cater transport needs for the entire Sunshine Coast region.
Sponsored by: LPE
Business of the Year
ADVANCED AQUARIUM TECHNOLOGIES
Advanced Aquarium Technologies designs, constructs, and operates landmark public aquariums. They have delivered projects for zoos and aquariums in over 20 countries, including Den Blå Planet (Denmark), the Oman Aquarium, the Cube Oceanarium in Chengdu, China, and the Ocean Park Grand Aquarium in Hong Kong. Their point of difference is the breadth and depth of their in-house capabilities. Services include feasibility and concept development; customer journey planning; exhibit design; AAT Acrylics –manufacturer of the world’s largest PLEXIGLAS® panels; a range of water quality management equipment; fibre-reinforced polymer tanks; hyper-realistic artificial coral, rockwork and theming; tank waterproofing and animal transportation.
Sponsored by: Sunshine Coast Council