A golf ball recycling approach that lands on the green, a deer velvet chew that dogs adore, and a ‘wheelie’ innovative idea for creating smoothies – the Christ’s College Years 10–11 Trade Fair has it all.

Year 10 trio Will Gardiner, Sam Coles, and Alex Innes have chipped in to launch a golf ball recycling business, launching the concept at the Trade Fair hosted by Commerce students.

The boys have been busy sourcing used golf balls from a local club and many players while coming to grips with their long game to move the business online.

“We have gathered about half of our present stock from a local course and the rest from players,” Will explains. “In total, we have spent $60 and already earned $250 for our start-up, so that’s a profit of $190. We also plan to expand and launch our business – simply called Golf Balls – online.”

For Year 10 student Arthur Orbell, utilising the deer velvet found on his family farm makes business sense. He has developed his chew products for dogs under the brand name Nature’s Velvet Dog Bites.

Arthur says the deer velvet “is easy to gather around the farm” and the dog bites have been snapped up.

Meanwhile, seeing a demand for healthy drinks among the College boys, Year 11 students Guy Holmes, Jack Gorrie, and Ollie Trollip have geared up to create ‘Wheelie Good Smoothies’ with a “fresh approach”.

“We have seen a big need for fresh smoothies at school, with lots of boys lining up for ready-made smoothies and commercial drinks from the tuck shop,” they say. “We thought we would take a fresh approach and make the smoothie experience fun as well.

“We also wanted to include a fitness element to complement our healthy smoothies, with the customer hopping on a bike to power the smoothie blender via pedal power.”

Jack has come up with the business name, Wheelie Good Smoothies.

“We were looking for a fresh way of attracting the attention of our customers, so we could literally keep our business spinning for a sold-out session,” the boys say.

For all three boys, the different flavours – banana, berry, and Oreo – have also been a success and the overall concept has proved a winner with fellow students.

“It’s a fun way of attracting a crowd and providing healthy options for students while learning so much by coming up with the product, a business plan, a marketing strategy, and a service delivery process.”

Ollie adds that the boys also want “to give a shout-out from the Wheelie Good Smoothies team to our teacher”, Graeme Christey, for his support and guidance.

Among the other impressive business concepts being pitched by the boys are Täonga Wrists, with its very popular wristbands and beads; the 3D-focused 3D Flex and Custom Jibbitiz, and the Marblers phone cases.