The ‘in good company’ Northern Rivers project has been developed as a project and campaign driver for keeping business in the region and attracting business to the region. We invite you to be part of the project as we celebrate, connect and collaborate to enhance business opportunities and facilitate economic development.
Our region is home to a diverse range of business and industry leaders and as you explore their business stories you will see a common thread and tribute to establishing or operating in the Northern Rivers. Whether it is in a coastal village, hinterland hamlet, a CBD or industrial estate Northern Rivers businesses are the mainstay of the economy and integral to employment growth and sustainable community endeavours.
In a region of close to 300,000 people within an enviable landscape of 20,000 plus kilometres, the Northern Rivers has a GRP of $13.305 billion (2.3% of the state) and significant opportunities for continued industry sector growth and development. Our project partners are facilitators in the area of economic development and have collaborated to leverage the dynamic strength of the entire Northern Rivers business offering.
Sharing business stories, connecting businesses to each other and creating collaborative opportunities are important to developing a thriving economy and positioning our region for future investment and reinvestment.
Tweed Real Food
Tweed Real Food is a business launched in 2018 from a desire to be resilient. Little did founder Julia Foyster know how prescient her plan would turn out to be.
Frontier Pets
Diana Scott was more than a bit annoyed at being unable to find a premium quality food for her dogs that was also ethically produced, so she did what all great entrepreneurs do – she created it.
Greenx7
For the past 10 years GreenX7 has been running workshops and retreats internationally and in the Tweed for clients as diverse as McDonald’s, Deloitte, Six Senses, and the Australian Defence Force, to inspire both individuals and teams to tap into the healing power of nature.
Norco Co-operative
Norco has an impressive origin story.
Jumbunna Community Preschool and Early Intervention Centre
The early childhood sector has played a vital role in supporting communities and families in the Northern Rivers amid the onslaught of challenges in the last three years.
Grafton to Yamba Houseboats
The Clarence River, at the southern end of the Northern Rivers, is known colloquially as the ‘Big River’, while its Aboriginal name is ‘Breimbah’ or…
Patches of Kyogle
Jeannine Smith grew up under her mother’s sewing machine in Western Samoa. “My mother was a professional dressmaker,” says Jeannine…
Gather By
Gather By is a closed-loop regenerative agribusiness that works with beekeepers and landholders in NSW and Queensland, and investors around Australia to produce and market rare, pure and potent Australian Manuka honey…
Air T&G
Northern Rivers is well known for its breathtaking natural beauty, and imagine if your day at the office involved enjoying these views from the air…
Skye Park Pet Resort
In 2014, a long-held aspiration finally came to fruition for Helen and Ian MacGregor when they purchased an existing pet boarding facility in bucolic Clarenza, with the dream of making it their own.
Osteria
Mark Wilson, Lia Mason and Lee Middendorf all met when the three of them were working in hospitality jobs at The Sandbar …
Five Sixty Farms
Stranded on the roof of his house with his wife and their eight children, Pepe Fassos watched helplessly as his beloved greenhouses smashed and floated away in a tsunami of floodwater.
Ascent Dance
Starting a dance school just five weeks before the onset of a pandemic might have dampened the spirits of some new business owners, but Haylee Holliday took it as a sign that Ascent Dance Studio had to succeed.
The Kind Coffee Co.
The KIND Coffee Co, reflects its name in everything it does.
Alstonville Quality Meats
There’s a giggle in the undertone of conversation when Ashley and Tina Thomson share their claim to fame as being the multi-award winning Sausage Kings…
Honey Hunt Style
Jules Hunt moved to Byron Bay with her family 15 years ago because she wanted to raise her children with a strong sense of community. It was by chance that this move led to the flourishing of her artistic career – and more recently to her turn as a successful business woman.
Hemp Foods Australia
When Hemp Foods Australia founder, Paul Benhaim, discovered hemp as a food choice in the early 90s during his global travels, he had his own preconceived ideas.
Northern Light
“I eat a pot of honey every day and I’ve been stung more than 70,000 times,” says Jeffrey Gibbs, founder of Northern Light, an organic beeswax…
J. Notaras & Sons
J. Notaras & Sons owes its existence, strong identity and ongoing success to the dreams of two brothers of Greek ancestry.
Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital
In 2020, Iggy Pop received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys; in the same year his pet cockatoo, named Biggy Pop, became the founding patron of Byron Wildlife Hospital…
Following the impacts of Cyclone Debbie and the groundswell of both business hardship and determination over the 12 months of recovery, we wanted to launch a project that would show our confidence and our pride in our people and our place.
Initiated by the NSW Business Chamber, in partnership with the seven local Government Councils of the Northern Rivers (Tweed, Byron, Ballina, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Clarence Valley), Regional Development Australia, Southern Cross University and supported by the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet, the project will celebrate, connect and collaborate to enhance business opportunities and facilitate economic development.
Our project supporters have been integral to the development of each element of the project deliverables and we thank them for their expertise, creativity and shared passion for the project.
