Eco-friendly Toothpaste Tablets A Winner For SBHS Student

Aubrey Page has the biggest smile on his face today after being chosen as the overall Southland Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) company of the year.

The Year 12 Southland Boys’ High School student has been selling Eco-friendly toothpaste tablets under his brand Eco Smile since May, and managed to impress a panel of nine judges at the Invercargill Working Mens’ Club today.

He also picked up the Murihiku Mover & Shaker Award sponsored by ILT, Innovation award, and Primary Industry award.

A keen tramper and mountain biker, Aubrey got the idea for his alternative toothpaste tablets on a trip to Fiordland earlier this year.

The tablets are vegan-friendly and contain micro-sized plant cellulose fibres, sourced from spruce trees, combined with menthol and clove oil to polish your teeth naturally.

His first batch of 70 units sold out in just four days, and he’s now hoping to find a nationwide retailer that can stock his product and help grow his small business.

Doing his bit to help reduce plastic waste was a massive factor in the packaging of the tablets, that come in a small aluminium tin, and are made in Europe.

Aubrey will now head to Wellington in December for the national YES event to compete against other students around the country.

Southland Excellence Awards:

• Award for Innovation sponsored by Findex. ·Winner Eco Smile
  This is awarded to the YES company that best displays innovation in their product/service, their business model or both. The award is to celebrate creative disruption and inventiveness. New ideas and original thinking are must haves to win this award.

  

• Award for Social Enterprise sponsored by South Port NZ Limited. WINNER Bees & Trees
  This is awarded to a YES company who recognises social challenges and uses entrepreneurial principles to organise, manage and create a positive change in the community.
  

  

• Award for Primary Industries sponsored by VetSouth. WINNER Eco Smile
  Awarded to the YES company with the best business product or service that relates to food or fibre, focuses on sustainability or protecting New Zealand from harmful pests and diseases, and can make a positive impact on the primary sector.

  

• Award for Know your Why sponsored by COIN South. Winner The Cozy Co
  Awarded to the YES company that clearly shows they know who their customer is (this could be personas or showing who they have spoken to), how their product solves their customers problem, and evidence that they have spoken to their target audience during the market research phrase of establishing their new product/service.
  

  

• Award for Sales & Marketing sponsored by New Zealand Aluminium Smelter (NZAS). Winner Pooh4ewe
  This is awarded to the company that best demonstrates a successful execution of an effective marketing strategy, as evidenced in the Annual Review.
  

  

• Award for Resilience sponsored by SBS Bank. Winner Kapai Kapia
  This is awarded to the company that has successfully completed the Yes programme in the face of barriers, difficulties or hardships not faced by the average YES company to complete its product or service as evidenced in the Annual Review.
  

  

• Murihiku Mover & Shaker Award sponsored by Invercargill Licensing Trust (ILT). Winner Eco Smile
  his award will recognise a brilliant idea and excellent execution, it also represents a distinctly and uniquely Southland/Murihiku offering from our innovative and progressive corner of the world.