‘‘We were absolutely blown away to have taken out the Technology Award at the North Canterbury Business Awards hosted by Enterprise North Canterbury in Rangiora recently. Honestly, we didn’t expect to come out on top, but now we’re beyond proud,” says Jason.
“We were up against some big technology companies, and we are just a little fish and chip shop in Kaikoura.”
What pushed the popular chippie over the line was a commitment to developing technology to make it easier to run the business and service their growing client base.
Jason says it all started when they were locked down during Covid.
“I was worried about our business, so I was up at 4am every morning trying to find ways to streamline our business plan, to make it easier to work with suppliers, contractors and to make our customers feel like they were valued when they walked into our shop.
“We knew there had to be a better way, and that’s why we’ve worked hard to develop smart technological systems that worked behind the scenes to benefit not only our team, but also to help us set real-time customer expectations.”
“It means so much to have the judges recognise just how the software and technology we developed here is integral to the successful running of our operations.’’
Jason and Natasja Hill took over the Coopers Catch business from Jason's mother ten years ago.
“Back then, we were a small shop with a set number of loyal customers, but now we have grown into being one of the popular destinations for people looking for a meal or a snack.
He says a big thank you to all their amazing support crew – their family, his mum, Peter, Mariska, Luke, their business consultant from EBI, Antony their accountant, and Sara and Carly from GFM, their social media partners, and their software developer and family member, Will, for turning the ideas into reality.
