Are you a product based business and have a brand you want to Wholesale?
This is the third year I have been involved in the Life Instyle Scholarship. A fabulous scholarship for a product-based business that is under 2 years old and an Australian or NZ brand. The total value is over $7000!!!
I am one of the judges and also offer a Business Coaching session as part of the prize.
It gives me the chance to meet so many amazing new brands and really help the Winner also kick start their journey into Wholesaling.
Here are some details about it:
The New Breed Scholarship is an award program designed to give up and coming designers a kick-start as they get into the groove of wholesale, with one lucky young brand receiving an envious prize package valued at over $7,000 including a stand at Life Instyle Sydney in 2022.
Now more than ever we know what it takes to start a new business and we support the brave movers and shakers taking the steps to build the business of their dreams. So after a challenging year or two for small business and to further elevate start-ups and exciting new products in wholesale, we are delighted to announce the New Breed Scholarship is back and applications are open!
On top of this we’ve teamed up with our scholarship partners The Lotco and The Life Style Edit, to provide some invaluable inclusions. To check eligibilty head to the Life Instyle page
It closes on Friday, October 22nd 2021.
In the Business Coaching session, we go over all the foundations of the business looking at pricing, sales channels, marketing activities, and also cover how to make sure they are prepared for the trade show opportunity as much as possible.
A chat with the previous Winners !!
I chatted with the three previous winners and got their take on what impact it had on their business.
Karina Jambrak
The original winner Karina Jambrak from Karina Jambrak Art had this to say about the scholarship opportunity.
Why did you apply?
I applied for Life InStyle so I could grow my business, meet store owners in person and allow people to put a face to my brand.
What did being at the trade show do for you?
It exposed me to so many new customers and it was really nice to have an in-person experience with my customers.
What benefit did the business consult give you?
Working with Mel from thelotco allowed me to see the parts of my business that I needed to work on from an outside perspective. Sometimes when you’re so ‘in’ your business you lose perspective of what you need to do or the direction you need to go in. Mel was amazing she has helped me set achievable goals and fine-tuned parts of my business that I had previously worked on to make sales more streamlined.
What would you say to someone considering applying now?
Go for it! Such an awesome experience.
Too Designs
Next up is Sureen and Thomas from Too Designs
Why did you apply?
As a startup business we entered Life Instyle’s New Breed Scholarship in the hope that we would able to get our products in front of as many retailers as possible, helping us to establish ourselves in the market. Although we never expected to win with so many amazing brands in the running, its been a great privilege & blessing.
What did being at the trade show do for you?
Due to Covid restrictions, the Melbourne show has unfortunately been cancelled for the second consecutive year. Hopefully it will be third time lucky for us, and we can actually get to have our first trade show! We’re looking forward to interacting with retailers in person, getting their feedback and hopefully establishing lost of meaningful business connections.
What benefit did the business consult give you?
As we were completely new to the wholesale game in Australia, having consultations with Mel was really invaluable for us to understand how the industry works, how we need to prepare and what to expect when dealing with retailers. Even-though we haven’t had our show yet, this knowledge helped us a lot when approaching retailers directly.
What would you say to someone considering applying now?
The Life Instyle New Breed Scholarship is an extraordinary opportunity for new brands to present their products to Australian retailers and might just be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for!
The Little Potion Co.
The most recent winners are Alicia and Jacinda from The Little Potion Co
Why did you apply?
We both have visited Life InStyle for our previous jobs and knew the calibre of brands at the show were the kinds of brands we wanted to align ourselves with. We knew that the opportunity to showcase our brand at a show like Life InStyle would be incredible for our business. The prize is amazing for the scholarship too!
What did being at the trade show do for you?
It was such a validation for us and a game-changer for our business! We met so many amazing like-minded businesses at the show who were all willing to share information with us. We took on 30 new stockists over the three days and the exposure we got from winning the scholarship opened us up to a lot of new opportunities, such as the offer to partner with The Iconic.
What benefit did the business consult give you?
Oh, Mel, we couldn’t have done all of this without you! Your advice in the lead up to the show about our catalogue, how to best present our product and ourselves at the show, what to expect, the logistics of taking orders… just so amazing. You have so much knowledge and we appreciate you sharing so much with us.
What would you say to someone considering applying now?
Do it now! We actually applied three times! The first time we hadn’t even launched our business yet but we were THAT excited to enter. Persistence paid off for us and we are so glad we kept applying. Just getting your brand in front of the incredible judges is amazing, they could see how we had grown over the two years since our launch. One of our stockists was a judge in the second year we applied. You never know what opportunities are out there for you!
Good luck to everyone who is entering and I cannot wait to see all the entrants!!!
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