Dr Campbell is the co-founder of Zestt Wellness, which she established with Darcy Schack during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.
Recently, the pair, with their business partners Danny Chan and Lisa Shi, were acknowledged at the New Zealand China Business Club’s annual gala dinner in Auckland, winning the innovator of the year award.
It was a significant moment for Zestt; their business partners were both Chinese and the Chinese market was something the company was looking into.
It was "incredibly rewarding" to be recognised by New Zealand’s Chinese community, particularly around innovation which was something they were very proud of, Dr Campbell said.
The atmosphere at the event highlighted "with everything going on right now around the globe" the importance of New Zealand’s relationship with China.
She hoped that, with the geopolitical challenges, that important relationships with China could be kept strong.
And, on top of that, Dr Campbell said it was a nice celebration. She was an advocate of small businesses and innovation and, during tough times, businesses needed to be "thinking outside the square".
It capped off a good year for Zestt Wellness where much time and effort had been spent researching and innovating to create health products with the aim of making a difference to the lives of their customers.
Mr Schack acknowledged starting a company in the middle of a pandemic was a "big call" but it was something they had both been passionate about for some time.
Mr Schack suffered from two autoimmune diseases, sarcoidosis and ankylosing spondylitis, with lung, brain and heart implications.
That was a key driver in the company’s purpose, which was "to change lives using scientifically proven, natural health products" and they initially developed a natural product to support immunity and help improve lung health.
"Sometimes a pandemic helps you have clarity about what you want to do with your life," Dr Campbell said.
Zestt recently released product into the United States market, with the help of partners there, and it was working on getting more clinical data behind its lead lung health product. A digestive health product was being released in January.
Their business model involved partnering with "amazing people" and their two business partners had been very valuable, she said.
Earlier this year, Zestt was a finalist in the startup category in the 2022 NutraIngredients Europe Awards and its liquid EXhale lung health and immunity formulation, which includes manuka honey, was a winner at the Apiculture New Zealand Awards.
The New Zealand China Business Club’s Business of the year award went to Maui Food Group; in eight years, Maui’s sheep milk volume increased more than 20 times and the yield for each ewe increased from 70 litres to 500 litres a year.
This year, Maui’s products were nominated for three awards in the World Dairy Innovation Awards and Maui became the first sheep milk company to be licensed through the AQ Assured Transparency programme.
Auckland-based health and wellness company Alpha Group won the social contribution award. During the Covid-19 pandemic, it donated PPE to the Institute of Environmental Science and Research, Auckland University and the University of Otago.
It also donated food and masks to various communities and institutions and assisted China’s Targeted Poverty Relief Project. It provided plants and taught villagers to grow mushrooms and fruit trees and guaranteed purchase of their crops with a buy-back scheme.
