After a competitive nomination period and pitch process, Amazon Australia has announced the winners of its Amazon Launchpad Innovation Grants initiative for 2023, awarding grants worth more than $90,000 each to four innovative start-ups and SMEs from across the country.
The winners are:
- BSKT Wholefoods (Gold Coast, Qld) – An enterprise aiming to be the leading Indigenous-owned and operated health food business in Australia.
- AntiBeauty (Perth, WA) – A skincare brand whose products are Australian-made and vegan as it envisions to change the beauty industry.
- Zena Sport (Melbourne, Vic) – A business that creates pioneering female protection garments, including its impact vest which helps reduce the risk of breast and rib injury while being lightweight and non-restrictive.
- GiveWrap (Sydney, NSW) – This small business, whose team are pictured in the feature image, offers a range of high-quality, 100 per cent recyclable, Australian-designed gift wrap and also donates a portion of its sales to its charity partners.
Amazon Launchpad aims to celebrate and support the growth of Australian start-ups and SMEs by accelerating the business of its chosen winners.
This year, a first for the Australian program, 10 finalists travelled to Amazon Australia’s Sydney HQ to pitch their entries in person to a panel of expert judges including Kate Glazebrook, Head of Impact at Blackbird; Maxine Sherrin, Program Director at Spark Festival; Amit Mahto, Country Manager, Marketplace at Amazon Australia and Singapore; and Lauren Capelin, Startup Ecosystem Manager at Amazon Web Services.
Entrants were given five minutes to make their pitch, sharing what makes their product innovative and how they plan to scale their business this year and beyond. Finalists were judged on how well they answered those questions and pitched their product, as well as whether their business understands their customers’ needs.
“Listening to the innovation, creativity and energy from all of our finalists at Pitch Night, it was very clear that SMEs are the powerhouse of Australian retail,” Amit Mahto said. These small businesses and brands have identified products or trends that are not only exciting and ahead of the curve, but will hopefully go on to support the changing way of life in Australia – one that is inclusive, sustainable and purpose-driven.
“We know that some of the very biggest and best ideas start small, and I have no doubt that each of the winners will go onto achieve great things in Amazon’s stores and beyond,” Mahto added. “We’re excited to help them reach their full potential. We’re also thrilled to be able to launch the winning brands on Amazon.com.au and put them in the spotlight for some of our of biggest shopping events of the year.”
Each Amazon Launchpad Innovation Grant includes a $20,000 cash grant, the opportunity to apply for up to $10,000 in Amazon Web Services Activate Credits, out-of home support through JCDecaux, support provided by third-party experts Export Accelerator, Podean and Airwallex, a ‘Selling on Amazon’ bootcamp experience over two days including flights and accommodation for those based outside Sydney, featured seller placement on the Amazon Launchpad homepage during key deal events and marketing, PR and merchandising opportunities throughout 2023.
