Innovation And Ongoing Growth Key to Cookie Time Award Success
Innovation and an entrepreneurial passion for challenging the norm to fuel global growth aspirations have seen Cookie
Time take out a prestigious Champion Canterbury Business Award.
Cookie Time was announced the winner of the medium/large enterprise Champion Producer/Manufacturer Award at a ceremony
in Christchurch last night. The Champion Canterbury Awards recognise business excellence, passion and success and hold
the largest business awards ceremony in New Zealand. About 130 entrants competed in eight categories, including
producer-manufacturer, service, retail, charity and safety.
Cookie Time’s win comes on the back of the recent launch of a high tech Cookie Bar retail store in Queenstown, plus the
successful launch of a licensed health food bar into the US earlier this year. The NOW (No Opportunity Wasted) Bar is a
partnership with ex-pat New Zealander and international TV star Phil Keoghan.
Lincoln Booth, Cookie Time General Manager, says the win is a great endorsement of Cookie Time’s commitment to
innovation and growth.
“At Cookie Time, we set the sails high. We’ve got big aspirations and we give things a go. And, more importantly, we’ve
got a great team around us that get stuck in and get things done. Behind the management team, we have another 200 people
who help manufacture our products and make things happen on a daily basis, and I am immensely proud of what we achieve
together
“Taking on the US market with a Kiwi health bar is something many said couldn’t be done. But we took on the challenge,
did things a bit differently and we’ve achieved that goal.”
Cookie Time is on a growth trajectory, with continuous ongoing new product development and a host of opportunities for
new channels and markets in play.
“The Queenstown Cookie Bar is another example of a big idea that has come to fruition. It’s a great space jam-packed
with innovations – from the animatronic Cookie Muncher with unexpected sound effects through to an amazing cookie menu
plus interactive Apple screens,” Booth says.
Cookie Time last year won another prestigious business award with innovation as part of the judging criteria, taking the
Overall Grand Prize at the Grocery Retailers' Association national supplier awards. The Grocery Retailers' Association
(NARGON) has over 500 retail members, all of whom are owner-operators of New Zealand grocery stores, from the largest
supermarkets to the smallest dairies. Members vote to find the best grocery supplier in the country. In addition to
collecting the overall Grand Prize, Cookie Time also took away a Gold in the Best Small Supplier category. Judging
criteria included new product development, paper trail, in-store support, distribution efficiency, orders delivered on
time & in full, and head office relationship.
ENDS