Go Vita Tenterfield has won a prestigious national award over 140 Go Vita stores across Australia for ‘going above and beyond’. The Barry Richards Memorial Award recipient is hand-picked by Go Vita CEO Terry Hughes, but the acknowledgement will come as no surprise to their local customers.
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Dietitian Rebecca Everett, who owns the outlet along with husband Tim, said she was thrilled to hear Tenterfield announced as the winner during the gala dinner for Go Vita’s conference on the Gold Coast on Thursday, October 19.
“We’re a tiny store in a tiny town, out of a lot of big stores,” she said.
Mrs Everett credits the award on the couple’s efforts to integrate with the community, and work closely with other healthcare professionals like Charlotte Bush (dietitian), David Reynolds (Naturopath) and Michelle McBurney (personal trainer) on solutions. Go Vita also runs workshops in conjunction with Ms Bush and Granite Borders Landcare with cooking demonstrations and nutrition advice.
Mrs Everett said she aims to stock exactly what her customers require for their health needs, and does her best to get in products on request. She does a lot on online research in order to match if not better internet prices, particularly on whole foods.
The Everetts took over the business four years ago and are about to expand with a freezer stocking meals and other items from another local business Sustainable Plate. They also aim to be a showcase of the latest products in the cosmetic, food and supplement categories.
The self-serve bulk bins are proving popular in reducing packaging, and the store is aiming to be plastic bag-free in the near future, in line with its environmental philosophy and the desire of its environmentally-conscious clientele.
Mrs Everett said she’s seeing a lot of new customers who are moving to town for a tree change but don’t want to compromise on the health products available to them.
“And they shouldn’t have to,” she said.
As a dietitian Mrs Everett said she aims to get to the back bone of the nutritional needs of her clients, and her assessment has to be evidence-based.
“I don’t want anyone walking out of here with false information,” she said.
It’s not the first time the appeal of Go Vita’s business philosophy has been acknowledged. The Tenterfield outlet was named NSW Retailer of the Year at the 2015 Go Vita conference, and scored two highly commended awards at Tenterfield’s recent business awards along with winning the Health, Beauty and Fitness category two years in a row.