3 July 2014
Breastmates owner honoured in Fly Buys Mumtrepreneur Award
Cambridge business woman Franny McInnes has been named as a national finalist in the Fly Buys Mumtrepreneur of the Year Awards.
Ms McInnes’ business, Breastmates, is an online maternity store that offers a range of clothing and breastfeeding equipment as well as articles and advice for Mums. She started the business when she was on maternity leave in 2005 with just $50 to sell her homemade breast pads. Today Breastmates receives over 40,000 visitors a month and sells numerous product lines – including her own designs that are manufactured in factories in Cambridge and China.
Stephen England Hall, CEO of Loyalty New Zealand, which runs the Fly Buys programme, says the competition aims to recognise the additional trials Mumtrepreneurs need to overcome to achieve business success.
“The challenges for anyone running a business are high and Mumtrepreneurs are handling the dual task of raising a family at the same time. There’s a lot of focus and energy needed and we thought it was high time that they were recognised and celebrated for their achievements.”
Competition Judges were Catherine de Groot, Trilogy skincare co-founder and Mumtrepreneur; Tui Te Hau, start-up adviser and CEO of Wellington’s Creative HQ; and Stephen England-Hall.
Mr England-Hall said the judges were impressed with the speed with which Ms McInnes’ business had achieved its impressive online success.
“Franny has an extraordinary story. For someone who started with next to nothing, she has developed a thriving business that’s demonstrates how a clever idea and a bit of determination can pay off. We wanted to recognise her for that.”
The Fly Buys Mumtrepreneur Awards attracted over 250 entrants from throughout the country in five different categories: Best Product or Service, Best Online or Technology Business, Best Creative Business, Best Food and Beverage Business and the Best Agri-Business.
Franny McInnes will travel to Wellington for an awards ceremony next week when the winners will be announced for each category, as well as a supreme winner of Mumtrepreneur of the Year.
About Fly Buys
Fly Buys is managed by Loyalty New Zealand. It is New Zealand’s largest coalition loyalty programme with more than 1.4 million active households (representing 74% of all New Zealand households) and 2.5 million active card holders. On average, each day, the Fly Buys card is swiped more than 300,000 times and every 46 seconds a New Zealander redeems a Fly Buys reward. Visit www.flybuys.co.nz for more information and a full list of Fly Buys partners.
