Whanganui business Jill's Complements, operated by Jillian Hermansen, is a finalist in the New Zealand Food Awards.
Whanganui business Jill's Complements, operated by Jillian Hermansen, is a finalist in the New Zealand Food Awards.
What started as recreating some old family recipes has made one small business in Whanganui a nationally recognised brand.
For the second year in a row, Jillian (Jill) Hermansen, of Jill’s Complements, has been selected as a finalist at the New Zealand Food Awards for her Rustic Seed Crackers.She won bronze at the 2024 awards for the same product.
“[It’s] pretty amazing to be selected ... to be one of them, it’s incredible,” Hermansen said.
The finalists were chosen from a pool of 365 applicants and 138 businesses from across the country. She is joined by fellow Whanganui small business Good Bones distillery, which is nominated as a finalist for its vodka.
Hermansen is a one-woman-owned-and-operated business which started about 2021.
Tired of the jams she found in the supermarket while living abroad in Dublin, Ireland, she decided to begin making her own. She was inspired by her family of cooks, whom she had grown up around, enjoying their homemade recipes.
“My family members, especially my mum, my nana and my granddad ... had peach trees. So they were always preserving peaches, and making relish, and making tomato sauce, and home baking,” Hermansen said.
What began as a habit of sharing her homemade goods with friends and co-workers quickly blossomed into a small but thriving business.
Many of the products she now sells are directly inspired by her family’s old recipes. The rustic seed crackers were inspired by ones her mother used to make.
Jilly's Rustic Seed Crackers have been selected as a finalist for the second consecutive year.
“I just always had a passion for making food … I enjoy giving food and having people enjoy it,” Hermansen said.
This was what continued to inspire her business.
“It just stemmed from wanting to make nice food that people would want to buy again because it tastes like more.”
Hermansen said she hopes the exposure from doing well at the New Zealand Food Awards would help Jill’s Complements grow further. Her ultimate goal is to be a nationwide brand so her family-inspired goods can be enjoyed across New Zealand.
Winners will be announced at a gala dinner on October 16 in Palmerston North.
