10 Nov Croydon Business Excellence Awards 2022 Winners Announced
Last night, at the Croydon Business Excellence Awards 2022, in association with London South Bank University, there was suspense, warm smiles and lots of local food favourites. It was another successful year celebrating inspirational businesses and entrepreneurs across Croydon.
Featuring a record number of entries and more than 18,500 votes, the event had more engagement than ever. Keeping with the awards’ aim to examine Croydon’s businesses’ impact on the local community, the event was hosted by Legacy Youth Zone, an organization that raises money to support future talent.
The winners announced on the night include:
Best Employer:
Winner – Vivona Earcare
Best New Business:
Winner – Haven Wellness
Best Charity or Social Enterprise:
Winner – Children’s Hospital Pyjamas
Contribution to the Community, sponsored by HSBC:
Winner – Excel Education
Business Commitment to Education, Training & Skills, sponsored by Croydon College Group:
Winner – Vivona Earcare
Entrepreneur of the Year, sponsored by Sussex Innovation:
Winner – Ashley Baruti-Cooke, Cozy Glow
Best Business for Customer Service:
Winner – Walnuts and Honey
Business Resilience Award, sponsored by Caridon Group:
Winner – DTT Removals
Community Hero, sponsored by Flip Out Croydon:
Winner – Pastor Bola Thomas, His Grace Evangelical Outreach
Outstanding Team Award:
Winner – Rawlings Opticians
Sustainable Green Investment Award:
Winner – Cozy Glow
Inspirational Young Person, sponsored by CNBA Foundation:
Winner – Mashauna Brooks
Business of the Year, sponsored by London South Bank University (LSBU)
Winner – Rawlings Opticians
Sarah Moore-Williams, Dean of LSBU Business School, and the Business of the Year presenter said: “Through our lead sponsorship of these awards, we look to promote, and showcase the incredible innovation, creativity, and ingenuity of the local businesses in Croydon. Our connection to the local business community helps us build strong partnerships, which are both beneficial to the businesses we work with and our students who are looking to enter the business community upon graduation.
“The overall winner this year goes to a company that have shown both an outstanding and long-standing commitment to the local area. The company showed resilience and flexibility to continue to deliver services to the local population through all the challenges we’ve faced over the past 12 months.
“On behalf of London South Bank University, I want to congratulate Rawlings Opticians, who we selected for this prestigious award.
Winner of Best Employer and the Business Commitment to Education & Skills Award, Jennifer Onah founder of Vivona Earcare said: “This is the first time we have ever entered an award, I am so surprised, I didn’t expect to get one award, let alone two. I didn’t realise how many people voted for us and used our service. The fact that we won is a testament to how happy our customers and patients are with our service.”
Winner of the Community Hero Award, Pastor Bola Thomas, His Grace Evangelical Outreach, said: “This is a really big honour, our thanks to the team and the parishioners of Croydon. I am so proud to be in Croydon – it’s amazing the way the borough pulls together to make things happen – I would so like to thank everyone who has supported our work and continues to do so. We’ve been going for 22 years and it’s our first-ever award.”
Best Charity or Social Enterprise, Charmaine Green, Children’s Hospital Pyjamas said: “In 13 years, this is our first ever award. We supplied pyjamas to more than 80,000 children in hospitals, hospices, and refuges across the UK. A massive thank you to everyone who has supported us, in particular our 55 volunteers, our team and Start-Up Croydon who have given us offices and support.”
The event was held in association with London South Bank University (LSBU) and was compèred by esteemed broadcaster Fayon Dixon. Focused on the community, guests dined on a delicious spread from the popular BoxPark outlet Big Mike’s Calypso kitchen and micro-bakery Laborjee, had a drinks selection from Signal Brewery and were entertained by Endurance Steel Orchestra and DJ SK.
The Croydon Business Excellence Awards 2022 have been kindly sponsored and supported by LSBU, Croydon College, Flip Out Croydon, Sussex Innovation, HSBC, Caridon Group, Browne Jacobson, CNBA Foundation, Costco and creatively delivered by White Label Creative.