Taking part in the BIBAs is a fantastic experience, but don’t take our word for it, here’s what some of last year’s winners say!
We’ve been busy asking last year’s winners about their experiences of entering the BIBAs, and they haven’t disappointed when it comes to sharing their insights and inspiration.
Take Celia Gaze, whose business The Wellbeing Farm won the Green Business of the Year award. She told us: “As a hospitality business, we experienced a tough time through Covid so our whole focus through 2020-2022 was survival and growth. Our phrase was ‘2021 was for growing, 2022 was for showing’ – we wanted to showcase the work we’d been doing in sustainability and winning a BIBA seemed to be a great way to achieve this.
And here’s how she felt when she heard she’d won: “I was shocked considering the amazing quality of the other shortlisted companies. Nothing beats doing that walk up to the stage when you win an award – especially a green business award at this challenging time where sustainability is so critical.”
Then there’s Helen Davenport from Suresite Group which won the Small Business of the Year award. We wanted to know how the judging process had changed the way they look at their business: “Entering the BIBAs encourages you to view your business from an alternative perspective, assessing current strategy and recognising fresh achievements. We prioritised the analysis of our current situation in the market, checking we were on the right path, and as a result have accelerated some points in our overall strategy and deferred on some projects we realised weren’t as beneficial to our customers.”
Would they apply again?
“Definitely! We need to ensure we’re keeping up with the competition, and what better way to measure that, than a win at the BIBAs!”