If you’re keen to buy local, a great option is to support this year’s Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme (YES), which involves nine groups of Year 13 Mount Aspiring College (MAC) students, all now selling products they’ve created themselves from scratch.

The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme aims to encourage senior high school students to unleash their inner entrepreneur and experience the start-up world first-hand. The students taking part experience setting up and running a real business.

MAC’s participating student groups pitched their businesses to a regional panel of judges in a ‘dragon’s den’-type event back in term two, as part of the Young Enterprise Scheme Southland Regional Competition. 

Several MAC groups placed in the top five companies in the region and Essential Play earned top marks overall in this region.

The regional competition finishes at the end of this term, with the students finding out in term four whether their companies will compete in the national competition.

MAC Young Enterprise Scheme coordinator Kate Gildfedder said sales of the products on offer have been really strong, with many of the groups having sold out of their initial product run. 

“They’re all now busy reordering and completing further production runs,” she added. 

“After a tough start to their business operation, many of the YES companies had to pivot the direction of their business and make some significant changes to their business idea during lockdown,” Kate said. 

“But each business has shown forward thinking and resilience and now find themselves with some very innovative and sustainable products.”

Here’s a quick rundown of what the nine groups of students are selling, and where you can buy their products and services, both locally and through online storefronts:

Awa Hair Wanaka has created a shampoo bar, made with sweet almond oil, olive oil and coconut oil. The shampoo bar is presented with no plastic packaging, thus reducing waste by replacing traditional shampoo sold in plastic bottles.

The directors of Awa Hair are Ruby Burke, Kate Goodsell, Libby Bron, Phoebe Garland and Moana Watson. You can view and buy the shampoo bars online here or you can follow them on Facebook.

Dear Beauty is a beauty and wellness brand selling cream perfumes. Their solid perfumes are derived from natural oils, sourced in New Zealand and handcrafted in Wanaka. Their creams promise to “last the entire day and leave your skin feeling smooth and moisturised”. 

‘Dear Beauty’ offers cream perfumes.

The directors of Dear Beauty are Maggie Miller, Sammy Traynor, Kirsten Blackley and Finlay Jones. You can view and buy Dear Beauty products here or check them out on Facebook.

Essential Play has produced a readymade playdough, infused with essential oils, with the intention of improving young children's health and wellbeing. The directors say the idea behind the playdough is to “keep kids actively playing and fine-tuning their fine motor skills”, as well as reducing the time they spend on electronic devices. 

‘Essential Play’ readymade playdough is infused with essential oils.

Essential Play playdough uses three different types of oil: lavender, peppermint and sweet orange. Collectively, the company says these help children “increase their creativity, energy levels, muscle relaxation and immune system health”. 

The directors of Essential play are Cece Gardner, Marcus Hetherington, Willow Strawson, George Chittick and Thomas Masters. You can buy the playdough online here or find out more about the product on Facebook.

Kakebake offers a dairy-free baking mix designed for people with particular dietary requirements. The company also offers a vegan baking mix. The directors’ stated goal is to offer an “easy, dairy-free, scrumptious brownie recipe, that will offer you a chance to bake an indulgent, yet simple and hassle-free treat that everyone will love”. 

The directors of Kakebake are Acacia O’Connell, Will McKellar, Weston Bell and Izzie Elworthy. Their baking mixes can be purchased online here.

Pursonally: A social enterprise that aims to end period poverty in New Zealand, Pursonally pledges to donate sanitary items for every sale. Pursonally offers discreet purses and toiletry bags, hand-made locally from recycled materials. Buying options are: 

• The Mother/Daughter Kit: a large purse as well as a medium one, along with a starting guide on period health. 
• The Starter Kit: a large purse with sanitary products inside. 

The directors of Pursonally are Kareem Jodeh, Astelia Aubrey, Gary Poilvert and Ethan Carleton. Pursonally are about to launch their products this week and will take pre-orders online here.

Resolve aims to reduce everyday kitchen waste through producing silicone baking mats. The Resolve product is a silicone sheet (3mm thick) which will fit most standard baking trays. Resolve claims their baking mats can withstand temperatures up to 300 degrees celsius, and are dishwasher safe. 

The directors of Resolve are Tyler Danielson, Grace Shannon, Josie Plimmer, Fergus Reid and Lachie MacDonald. Their products are available to buy here.

Rewood sources unwanted waste wood and transforms it into bespoke handmade chopping boards. The upcycled boards are available in a range of sizes and wood. The directors of Rewood are Oscar Humphries, Zak Miller, Tom Roberts and Toby Blatch. Their products range from $30 to $120 a board and you can buy them through their online store.

Timeless are producing a cookbook, which they hope to launch for public sale on September 17. The Timeless Cookbook aims to bring different generations together using the art of cooking. It contains affordable, healthy recipes and the stories behind them, sourced from a wide range of sources within New Zealand. 

The cookbook will contain 50 recipes and sell for $30 a copy. The directors of Timeless are Jack Miller, Meg Breen, Maude Rogers, Maye Hall and Ben McLaughlin. You can follow their progress on Facebook.

Wanaka Clothing Company is about to launch a range of kitchen aprons that have an adjustable magnetic strap, making it easier for people to tie their aprons. The company directors are Campbell Mortimer, Angus Reid, Ronan Kaye and Damien McGilvray. FInd out more on the Wanaka Clothing Company Facebook page.

PHOTOS: Supplied