Student companies making cashew nut paste, health food with a Maori business model, and a simple yet effective way of finding light switches in the dark were the winners in the Young Enterprise Scheme's Trade Fair on Saturday.
The 50-plus companies from high schools all over Northland taking part in the scheme this year have to come up with a product or service and a business plan, and by the end of the year will have made a real-life profit or loss.
The Trade Fair at Kerikeri's Turner Centre was a chance for 23 of those fledgling firms to market their products and themselves. to the public. They were judged on the quality of their stalls, promotional material and financial controls, and most importantly on selling techniques.
This year's winner was 17-year-old Nicholas Fewtrell of Kerikeri High School, assisted by 16-year-old Lara Thorne, of Paihia. His company, Innoluminate, produces glow-in-the-dark stickers to help people find light switches. Nicholas said glow-in-the-dark switches were available overseas but were expensive and required the entire cover to be replaced. His solution was to produce stickers from photoluminescent vinyl to fit neatly over a switch.
He was applying for a patent and hoped to sell his product via The Warehouse.