Auckland Central  - youandi eyewear, St Cuthbert's College (Epsom)

youandi eyewear who were named Auckland Central Regional Champions created and sold blue light blocking glasses which help combat the negative health impacts that come from staring at screens all day.

Auckland East - SLIC NZ, Pakuranga College

SLICNZ were named Auckland East Regional Champions with their interactive card game that helps user learn sign language. To celebrate Māori Language Week the team released new cards which include Te Reo which means their cards now incorporate all 3 of New Zealand's national languages!

Auckland West - Ika Art, Henderson High School.

Ika Art took out the top spot for the Auckland West region with its beautiful photography. Ika art sells canvas and art paper versions of their wave imagery. Their artwork is customisable as the buyer is able to select the image, the style, and the size of their desired artwork. Currently, Ika Art has 26 prints on display and sale in a local gallery.

Auckland South - Artist Inspired, Manurewa High School.

The South Auckland regional champions Artist Inspired takes customers photos and turn them into one of a kind, hand-drawn images. Offering a range of drawing styles the Artist Inspired team's vision is to build a sense of community and togetherness. For every 3 custom art pieces purchased Artist Inspired donates a custom image to a child in starship hospital.

Auckland North - Reused Shoes For You, Birkenhead College.

Reused Shoes For You wowed the judges with their social enterprise. Reused Shoes For You collect donated shoes and monetary donations through their givealittle page and then distribute shoes to children in need through schools in their community. Through the course of the year the team has had over 250 pairs of shoes donated and over $2,000 donated through their givealittle page.

Bay of Plenty/Tauranga - Akau, Aquinas College.

Akau took out the Bay of Plenty region with its environmentally friendly moisturiser tubes. The natural moisturiser contains kawakawa oil, beeswax, coconut oil, and shea butter while the outer tubes are made from cardboard. Akau is a great sustainable alternative to the more common moisturiser which is usually sold in some form of plastic.

Canterbury South - Flatless, Farnet

Canterbury South winner Flatless have designed a new tyre which allows mountain bikers to go on long, rough trails without needing regular tire changes. They take recycled old tyres, combining them with 3 types of foam to create their Flatless tyres. Flatless tyres save up to $2,000 of damage over the life of the rim.

Canterbury North - mOAT, St Margaret's College.

Canterbury North Regional Champions mOAT have brought to market locally made Oat Milk which is packed with vitamins and minerals. mOAT have fortified their milk to contain 10% of your calcium RDI. mOAT believes that "your health is your wealth" so when you drink their milk you're doing wonders for your body.

Gisborne - Sun Upcycle, Gisborne Boys' High School.

Sun Upcycle claimed the top spot in Gisborne with their "give what you can, take what you want" shared pantry initiative. The shared pantries were stationed outside businesses across Gisborne and local members of the community volunteered to upkeep the pantries. The pantries are well-loved across the community and have received many donations across the year.  

Hawkes Bay - HBRP Give & Take.

Hawke’s Bay Regional Champions HBRRP – Give & Take created ‘Fit 2 Go’ kits which were designed to help improve the quality and health outcomes for rough sleepers in their communities. The well-being kits include a poncho, sleeping mat, backpack, and personal hygiene products. Reusable face masks were also made from recycled fabric and included in the kits when Covid-19 became a concern in New Zealand. Customers are able to purchase the kits through the teams Storbie site and the kits are then distributed via Housing First and Nourish for Nil. All profits are donated to Nourish for Nil and the Lighthouse.

Manawatu/Whanganui - City Slicker Honey, St Peter's College (Palmerston North).

City Slicker Honey wowed the judges at the Manawatu/Whanganui finals with their delicious honey! City Slicker Honey produces sweet fragrant honey sourced from the gardens of families around the Manawatu area. The team places strong importance on keeping their production process as environmentally friendly as possible and are excited to help provide a future for the beekeeping industry.

Nelson/Marlborough - Pathways to Primary, Waimea College.

Pathways to Primary is a fun and educational horticultural card game to ensure that more kids get involved in primary industry pathways. Their goal is to increase the knowledge of future career opportunities in horticulture as there is a lack of information students are getting about primary industries.

Northland - Green Kiwi, Kerikeri High School.

GreenKiwi supplements is a premium New Zealand grown olive lead supplement. GreenKiwi has developed the first New Zealand grown olive leaf supplement; OliveXtract. New Zealand's soil conditions mean that locally grown olive leaves have a far superior amount of Polyphenols than internationally grown leaves however no locally grown supplement was currently being produced.

Otago - Abalro, Bayfield High School.

Abalro took out the top spot for the Otago region with their raw barberry powder - an Iranian superfood which reduces cholesterol, is high in antioxidants and vitamins, and can reduce acne by up to 40% if taken regularly across a month.

Rotorua/Taupo - Wrapt, Tauhara College.

The Rotorua/Taupo Regional Champion Wrapt designed and created edible, bio-packaging which can be used as an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic wrap. Wrapt is completely edible meaning that if it ended up in our environment it does not pose a threat to any hungry animals.

South Canterbury  - Destination, Roncalli College.

Destination have brought to market the Journey Bag, a multipurpose outdoor bag which revolutionises the way travelers pack and wash their clothes. Through their research, the team discovered that there was very limited spots for washing clothes in the outdoors. Taking inspiration from dry bags the team have incorporated a washing compartment and 4m paracord into the Journey Bag. This allows the bag to act as a washing machine, clothing line and backpack all in one.

Southland - Whenua Photography, Aparima College.

Whenua Photography captures the beauty of our natural New Zealand landscapes and sells printed canvas copies. Over the course of the year Whenua Photography quickly pivoted when the national lockdown happened and began offering zoom backgrounds that could be personalized with company logo's. Whenua Photography has also worked on multiple videography projects to broaden their scope and skills.

Taranaki - Petite Cha, New Plymouth Girls' High School.

Returning YES company Petite Cha was named Taranaki Regional Champion. Petite Cha sells tea packages, bubble tea, and bubble tea kits. Petite Cha quickly pivoted this year when sales of their original pre-made bubble tea were halted due to Covid-19. To ensure the company remained operational during different Covid alert levels Petite Cha turned their ingredients into powders and syrups and began selling bubble tea kits.

Waikato/King Country - Kiwi Rakau, Hauraki Plains.

Kiwi Rakau provide New Zealanders cost-effective, environmentally-friendly furniture by breathing new life into unwanted local timber. The team takes old recycled timber pallets and repurpose these into bar leaners which are great for entertaining guests. The team was inspired by their rural community where it is popular to have an entertainment area from a man cave to a deck to a shed. 5% of all sales are donated to Kauri200 who replant native kauri trees in the Coromandel Ranges.

Wellington & Hutt Valley - Remojo Tech, Aotea College (Wellington), Fifth Sense, St Oran's College (Hutt Valley)

Wellington Regional Champions Remojo Tech has created a sustainable solution to e-waste while enabling device accessibility amongst students in schools. The team takes old donated computer devices and then refurbishes them before donating the new device to students in need. Remojo Tech repaired over 30 devices the day before level 4 lockdown to support distance learning at their school.

Fifth Sense took out the top spot for the Hutt Valley region with their children's picture book Aroha's Promise. Their book promotes looking after our environment to ensure our earth is happy and healthy. By following Aroha's daily journey and taking note of her habit's the readers are encouraged to implement these in their own lives and recognise the importance of a healthy planet.

A huge congratulations to all regional champions. We can't wait to see you all at Nationals!

Tickets to The Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme National Awards can be purchased at https://bit.ly/2IO2UYP