The Northern Rivers is an amazing place to be in business, with a calibre of entrepreneurial spirit and sustainable business acumen that is unrivalled.

The ‘in good company’ Northern Rivers project has been developed as a project and campaign driver for keeping business in the region and attracting business to the region. We invite you to be part of the project as we celebrate, connect and collaborate to enhance business opportunities and facilitate economic development.

Our region is home to a diverse range of business and industry leaders and as you explore their business stories you will see a common thread and tribute to establishing or operating in the Northern Rivers. Whether it is in a coastal village, hinterland hamlet, a CBD or industrial estate Northern Rivers businesses are the mainstay of the economy and integral to employment growth and sustainable community endeavours.

In a region of close to 300,000 people within an enviable landscape of 20,000 plus kilometres, the Northern Rivers has a GRP of $13.305 billion (2.3% of the state) and significant opportunities for continued industry sector growth and development. Our project partners are facilitators in the area of economic development and have collaborated to leverage the dynamic strength of the entire Northern Rivers business offering.

Sharing business stories, connecting businesses to each other and creating collaborative opportunities are important to developing a thriving economy and positioning our region for future investment and reinvestment.

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Business Stories

Discover the people behind the businesses in the Northern Rivers and follow their journey to establish and grow their enterprises. Celebrate their achievements and share with your networks – as we work together to shine a light on our own backyard.

planting natural beauty

 2048 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Biologi
There was a little bit of the “weird spirit of Byron Bay” in the 2017 creation of the natural skincare range, Biologi, says co-owner Lucy Macdougald of her chance meeting with Ross Macdougald, who is now both her business partner and husband…

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riding the wave of success

 1000 661 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

The Glass Lab
Adam Wessel may have worked in surfboard factories since the age of 16, but it was a stint in the luxury yachting industry that sowed the…

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let there be light

 2000 1333 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Northern Light
“I eat a pot of honey every day and I’ve been stung more than 70,000 times,” says Jeffrey Gibbs, founder of Northern Light, an organic beeswax…

an epic adventure into healing honey

 1191 893 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Gather By
Gather By is a closed-loop regenerative agribusiness that works with beekeepers and landholders in NSW and Queensland, and investors around Australia to produce and market rare, pure and potent Australian Manuka honey…

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organic, sustainable and a local legend

 800 800 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Mara Seeds
The farmer and owner of Mara Seeds knows what can happen when you don’t – his 8000-acre station 50km to the west of Casino has seen worse…

Flexing the entrepreneurial muscle

 2560 1707 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Summit Sport & Fitness
Like many Northern Rivers businesses, Summit Sport & Fitness has undergone immense change in 2022 – except, rather than being buffeted by floods or pandemic, these changes are positive, and mark a new chapter for owner Matthew George.

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simply better for you

 1600 533 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Simply Clean
It’s probably no surprise that it was a cleaning company that was the most well organised of all the businesses Huw and Becky Jones found for sale…

Casino RSM Club

 1360 906 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Casino RSM Club
The 23 of March 2020 was the hardest day of Neale Genge’s career.

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love, peace and artisan cheese

 666 500 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Nimbin Valley Dairy
Not every goat in Australia has its own nutritionist and its own vet. But the goats at Nimbin Valley Dairy definitely do. Bill, the nutritionist…

rod n reel woodburn nortrhern rivers

reinventing a special highway town

 1920 1080 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Rod n Reel Hotel
Woodburn NSW is a charming riverside town with which is about to embark on a transformation. When the Pacific Highway bypass is completed…

Cool to be kind and cans it

 957 1277 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

The Kind Coffee Co.
The KIND Coffee Co, reflects its name in everything it does.

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true blue locals making a difference

 1920 1280 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Mountain Blue
Mountain Blue is the definition of a twenty-first century business. Not only have owners Ridley and Mieke Bell expanded their blueberry production…

Northern Co-operative Meat Company

collaboration and cooperative capital

 1600 1066 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Northern Cooperative Meat Company
It comes as little surprise that one of the largest employers on the Northern Rivers is a co-operative, and with Casino being the beef capital of…

harwood marine clarence

‘can do’ marine

 1920 1182 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Harwood Marine
About half way between Yamba and Maclean is the tiny village of Harwood, which sits on the peaceful banks of the Clarence River with its population…

Osteria Casaurina Tweed Coast

overtures of romance and style

 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Osteria
Mark Wilson, Lia Mason and Lee Middendorf all met when the three of them were working in hospitality jobs at The Sandbar …

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spellbinding growth for a home grown icon

 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Spell Designs
The scent, texture and aura of Byron Bay is famous, and well-loved. If that Byron Bay feeling was a fashion brand, it would surely be Spell & The Gypsy Collective….

Spoiled stays for special pets

 2560 1600 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Skye Park Pet Resort
In 2014, a long-held aspiration finally came to fruition for Helen and Ian MacGregor when they purchased an existing pet boarding facility in bucolic Clarenza, with the dream of making it their own.

Clean green superfood team

 768 1024 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Foods That Love You Back
Health activist Erle Astrup founded Foods That Love You Back in January 2021, and her business – which has created the world’s first affordable, alkaline shot of concentrated microgreens – is infused with the passion she has for driving it.

Keeping it real in the Tweed

 1706 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Tweed Real Food
Tweed Real Food is a business launched in 2018 from a desire to be resilient. Little did founder Julia Foyster know how prescient her plan would turn out to be.

Alternative. Accessible. Affordable.

 2560 2553 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Nimbin Apothecary
Nimbin Apothecary is a herbal medicine dispensary providing acute over-the-counter consulting for herbal medicine prescriptions.

See all stories

Looking to relocate your business to the Northern Rivers? Contact us to learn how we can help?

Contact us

The Project

Established through a partnership collaboration, in good company Northern Rivers is a project born out of inspiration and resilience.

Following the impacts of Cyclone Debbie and the groundswell of both business hardship and determination over the 12 months of recovery, we wanted to launch a project that would show our confidence and our pride in our people and our place.

Initiated by the NSW Business Chamber, in partnership with the seven local Government Councils of the Northern Rivers (Tweed, Byron, Ballina, Kyogle, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Clarence Valley), Regional Development Australia, Southern Cross University and supported by the NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet, the project will celebrate, connect and collaborate to enhance business opportunities and facilitate economic development.

Our project supporters have been integral to the development of each element of the project deliverables and we thank them for their expertise, creativity and shared passion for the project.

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