New Wave start-Up toGET.com.au wins Award for ‘Excellence in Innovation’ at Waverley Council's Brightest & Best Awards

Last month, the Mayor of Waverley, Paula Masselos, announced the winners of the 2022 Brightest & Best business awards at a ceremony held at the newly restored Bondi Pavilion. The awards recognised the contribution of local businesses to the Waverley community and its economy.

One of the winners of the awards was local start-up toGET.com.au, which won the award for "Excellence in Innovation".

The platform, launched in 2021 by local entrepreneur Cindi Shaw, provides online shoppers with a selection of over 500 groceries and consumer goods from over a dozen local providers in the Eastern Suburbs area. The platform also offers local shops an easy-to-manage digital platform, giving them an immediate e-commerce capability without significant capital investment.

If you know your New Wave history you would know toGET was recognised as the winning pitch in the UNSW New Wave Cohort 8 Showcase, receiving the prestigious $5000 top prize. Its founder, Cindi Shaw, joined 75 diverse and driven female entrepreneurs across the 23 teams in UNSW New Wave Cohort 8.

"We founded toGET on the belief that we should all be buying local to support our local shops, villages and communities," Shaw said. "Many shoppers now want to support their local shops and purchase artisan food from purveyors in their local area. We now make this more convenient."

The growth of toGET has been supported by an increase in online grocery shopping, which has increased by more than 25% post-Covid. Shaw added,

"Local businesses are the innovators and fabric of our communities. Developing e-commerce platforms for many of these businesses is an expensive exercise. With toGET, a local business has access to an instant online platform that showcases their produce to local shoppers."

Mayor Masselos said, "It was wonderful to let our hair down last night and celebrate the resilience of our business community and their community spirit. As a small business owner myself, I appreciate the effort that our winners and finalists have put into their business, and in their people, in order to succeed and build customer loyalty in this challenging economy. Being a part of the Brightest & Best business awards is a rewarding experience because it gives our businesses an opportunity to reflect on the strategies that help shape their goals and ultimately lead to more customers and growth."