Two Squamish companies have made it to the Top 5 in their respective categories in the Small Business BC Awards.
Organizers for the event announced on March 22 they had narrowed the playing field down to five companies per category.Sḵwálwen Botanicals emerged as a Top 5 contender for both the Premier’s People’s Choice Award and the Best Community Impact Award.
The business is described as an Indigenous-owned enterprise creating luxury botanical skin care and wellness products.“Honouring traditional Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) plant knowledge, we incorporate wild harvested plants and organic, high quality ingredients,” reads their summary on the Small Business BC site. “Our wild plant ingredients are harvested in a sustainable and respectful way and each product has a Squamish name to honour the place where this plant knowledge comes from.”
Chiwis Kiwi Chips grabbed a Top 5 placement in the category for Best Solopreneur.This business is described as a company dedicated to making “100% natural snacks that taste amazing and do wonders for the body.”
Small Business BC noted that despite the pandemic, there has been a groundswell of support for the awards this year.The organization said there was a record number of nominations.
All in all, a total of 937 were received, representing 558 small businesses — some businesses nominated in multiple award categories — in 88 communities across B.C.“I think it’s clear from the overwhelming number of nominations and the more than 50,000 public votes, that the spirit of support for small business runs strong in our province. This has been the most difficult year for small business owners and now their communities are standing behind them, recognizing what they’ve been through and celebrating their success,” said Small Business BC CEO, Tom Conway in a news release.
The next step is for each of the Top 5 to make presentations to a panel of judges about why they deserve to win.The winners will then be announced over the course of a three-day virtual gala, from May 4 to May 6.
The grand prize is $1,500, a short video shot by a professional film crew of their business, and an all-access pass to Small Business BC’s services.
