Whistle & Pop’s Bex Hayman was lost for words when her business was named People’s Choice at The Grand Business South Awards at Dunedin’s Town Hall on Saturday night (November 19).

The Findex People’s Choice Award was one of the last to be presented on the night, and Bex said she was so overwhelmed she could not speak.

“I know everyone says they weren’t expecting to win,” the Hakataramea Valley business owner said. “But, I actually wasn’t expecting to win.”

Whistle & Pop was one of three Waitaki finalists at the event, with interior design business Design Federation and small animal food producers Topflite also in the running.

The accessories label was nominated in the Brand Strategy and Planning category, while Design Federation was up for Excellence in Retail, and Topflite for Excellence in Primary Industry. All

54 finalists were eligible for the People’s Choice, which was decided through an online public vote.

Bex was stunned by how big the event was, and said she went along with no expectations of winning anything, it was just nice for her and husband Tom to get “off farm”.

“To be recognised by the People’s Choice Award . . . it was like winning an Oscar. I actually was in true shock.’’

Business South Waitaki navigator Rebecca Finlay said she was “absolutely delighted” for Bex, and also what the event could do to raise the profile of all three Waitaki finalists.

Having businesses from the district as finalists in three of the 18 possible categories, was “no mean feat”, she said.

“This is the first time it’s not been really focused on Dunedin, which represents the territory of Business South, and the inter-regional reach we have as an organisation.”

The evening was great for raising her awareness of businesses throughout Otago she had not heard of.

“I’m hopeful that the same was true for the Waitaki finalists, obviously particularly for Whistle & Pop . . .  it was amazing to think how many people would have been getting their phones out at

the end of the evening, going who’s this chick, and connecting with her brand, connecting with her product, connecting with the land - being like, oh, the Hakataramea Valley, what else is going

on up there?” 

All finalists were interviewed by the judges, and those interviews were played throughout the night on a large screen.

“So the level of exposure it gave to them, with over 500 people in the room, was like, second to none. It was a world-class event,” Rebecca said.