Business award win opens new opportunities for Torquay honey venture

THOMAS Earls credits the Surf Coast community for helping turn Coastal Nectar from a passion project into an award-winning business.

Now, the reigning Torquay Business Awards Business of the Year winner is encouraging other local operators to put themselves forward, with entries open for the 2026 awards.

The awards celebrate local businesses excelling in their chosen field, with Earls saying the recognition helped raise the profile of Coastal Nectar and create new opportunities.

Earls said the business had been buzzing since taking out the award.

“Honestly, it was a big range of emotions. Having my parents attend the awards ceremony on the night was very special,” he said.

“We’ve had a big increase in people trying our honey for the first time and visiting us at the farmers market and community events.

“We’ve teamed up with a few other local businesses for some creative projects, even launching our new ‘chilli hot honey’, which has been very popular too. Shoutout to The Cave pizzeria in Jan Juc who are using our chilli honey on one of their pizza specials.”

 

Earls said the application process provided a rare opportunity to reflect on the business’s growth, achievements and future direction.

“I’d definitely recommend it to other local businesses and organisations,” he said. “It’s important to highlight your achievements and to shine a light on what makes your business unique.

“For anyone considering it, I’d say go for it. You don’t have to be a large or long-established business to apply.

“The awards celebrate innovation, passion, community impact and include a big range of award categories. It’s a great event to be a part of and to connect with lots of other local businesses.”

Coastal Nectar was born in 2020 after Earls travelled through Central and South America, where tasting unique varieties of honey sparked a passion for beekeeping.

That interest led to his first experience working alongside a master beekeeper and quickly grew into a fascination with bees, honey and pollination.

Drawing on his background in outdoor education, Earls returned home determined to share that knowledge with local schools through hands-on bee education programs.

The programs were well received and helped lay the foundations for Coastal Nectar’s growth.

Five years on, the business produces small-batch raw honey for the Surf Coast community and delivers interactive bee education workshops to schools and communities across Australia.

 

“We are putting a modern twist on the 9000-year history of beekeeping through honey and bee education,” Earls said.

He said there was plenty happening for Coastal Nectar in the months ahead.

“We’re super excited to announce we’re about to go on another Buzzing Bee tour, taking our school workshops on the road through Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland,” he said.

“We’ll visit lots of rural schools that don’t normally have access to extracurricular programs and hopefully visit a few of our favourite surf spots along the way. ”

Earls said the priority was expanding the business’s beehive numbers to help meet demand at summer farmers markets and events.

He is also working with illustrator Sarah Allen on a children’s book designed to complement Coastal Nectar’s education programs.

“We’re ‘buzzing’ to see that vision come to life and to have an extra learning resource that will join our education programs,” he said.

Entries for the 2026 Torquay Business Awards close 10 July. Head to commercetorquay.com.au