The award is open to any business that contributes to the Manawatū region. Contribution may be measured in terms or employment, community investment and support, charitable inputs etc. This can be a project or how your business operates or other initiatives that provide support to the community. 

This award celebrates and recognises a business or individual from the Manawatū region whose longevity and contribution to the local economy has been significant. During their lifetime, the recipient will have been instrumental in adding to the vibrancy of the business community resulting in expanding business, innovation and employment opportunities that have benefitted the region.

Open to any business whose core business is in the agricultural or food sector, including production, processing and wholesale including support services or supply.

Open to any business operating in the manufacturing, engineering or building sectors including all ancillary trades and services providers

Open to any business operating in the areas of distribution, freight, logistics (air, road, rail) and warehousing including support  services (eg fleet maintenance)  and related supply chains and service providers.

Open to any business operating in the areas of education, research and science (public or private) at all levels,  or in the broad ‘technology ‘ sector including but not limited to data management, design, web and social media based services. 

Open to any business whose principal activity is accommodation, food & beverage, 

tourism and retail. 

Open to any business whose ownership is 50% or more Māori.

Open to any business whose principal activity is in the provision of professional services or consulting to other businesses or the consumer, and those operations selling direct to the public.

Employing up to a maximum of 5 full time equivalent staff as at 1 July 2022.

Employing between 6 and 30 full time equivalent staff as at 1 July 2022.

Employing 31 or more full time equivalent staff as at 1 July 2022.

The Yorb Supreme Award recognises a business that has made an exceptional contribution to the Manawatū economy through what they have achieved under one of the above award categories. Simply the best from all category winners.

This category recognises businesses that have shown an outstanding example of a marketing campaign where customer research and/or market insights were used to plan and measure the campaigns performance. Examples of performance include increasing customer loyalty, media coverage, validated return on expenditure, retention, customer satisfaction, profitability and/or brand awareness. Whilst third parties/agencies may have created and assisted in completing the campaign relating to this entry, the business or organisation entering this award and its products or services must be the beneficiary.

Open to any organisation operating in a manner where profit is 'Not' the primary objective i.e. non-governmental  organisations, charities and community groups.

The Employer of Choice Business Award is given to businesses that demonstrate a commitment to employee satisfaction and engagement. To be considered for the award, businesses must meet criteria in areas such as employee retention, training and development, and benefits.

The award is open to entrepreneurial and new business start-ups that have been operating for more the 12 months as at 1 July 2022 but under three years. This award recognises a business that has achieved significant business growth during the last one to three years.

This award recognises businesses that can demonstrate an ongoing commitment or initiative to zero waste and/or emission reduction outcomes for their own business and their customers, staff and suppliers.  

Recognises a business that is embracing the increasing cultural diversity of our city by taking action towards becoming more inclusive in the way that they conduct their business (i.e. customer experience) and/or manage their organisational culture (i.e. employee experience).

Examples may include businesses who have developed onboarding programmes for new staff that take into account their diverse backgrounds, enabling staff celebrations of culturally significant days, or providing language learning opportunities to employees, or in terms of customer experience, highlighting diversity in their marketing materials, and taking into consideration the different cultural needs and experiences of customers in front-line processes.