Kerikeri entrepreneur Sandy Mecredy of Kiwi Bites has won Top Energy's Business Development Fund award.
The award includes $30,000 and six months of business mentoring.
Ms Mecredy was originally motivated by a desire to provide a healthy alternative to junk food and tested her sliced dehydrated kiwifruit snack on some of the nation's toughest critics - teenagers.
A first-time applicant, Ms Mecredy says the grant will be used to upgrade existing factory equipment and she would like to employ a local marketing graduate to help expand the business and research new markets - both local and overseas.
She also wants extend her range to include other local produce such as feijoas and figs and she sees potential for the business to provide a viable employment option for young people wanting to stay in the area.