Emblems NZ

What Emblems NZ does

Emblems New Zealand Ltd (trading as Emblems NZ) is a privately held, family-operated manufacturer and direct-to-consumer retailer of awards, recognition products, and promotional merchandise, headquartered at 3 Norton Road, Frankton, Hamilton, New Zealand. The company was founded approximately in 1989 and operates a physical manufacturing workshop alongside an e-commerce storefront at emblems.co.nz, shipping products daily across New Zealand. Its product portfolio centres on medals (academic, budget, custom, and standard sporting designs across more than 26 sports), trophies and awards (silver cups, crystal sourced from Czech supplier Rikaro, glass, acrylic, resin), metal and fabric badges, name badges (where it claims to be New Zealand's largest manufacturer), plaques (door, desk, premium, industrial, custom), and a growing range of promotional products.

The company runs an in-house manufacturing operation equipped with computer engraving machines, four pantograph machines, sandblasting equipment, a Universal 120 Watt laser engraver, a 30 Watt laser engraver for fine detail work, a Roland LEF flatbed digital colour printer, and a Roland VersaStudio vinyl printer cutter. It supplements this with relationships to specialist steel fabricators, woodworkers, carvers, and glaziers for one-off bespoke projects. Standard turnaround is 10 working days with an optional expedited 'Speeding Bullet Service'; the team of approximately nine named staff includes a Director (Sandy Schaare), Operations Manager (Sam Martin), Workshop Manager (Sam Brown), and an Engraver, supporting both catalogue sales and bespoke design work.

Emblems NZ generates revenue primarily through one-time unit-priced sales of physical products (medals $2.88 to $65.55, trophy cups $23 to $748, crystal awards $107 to $540, name badges from $5.15) supplemented by professional services such as custom design at approximately $110 per hour for artwork proofing, plus add-on engraving ($3 to $90 per item), sandblasting ($50 for small items), and digital printing/printing services. Its go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via the Shopify-based website, supplemented by a free phone line (0508 362 536), email/SMS enquiry channels, and a strong referral pipeline from preferred-supplier relationships with major New Zealand sporting organisations including Netball NZ, Gymnastics NZ, Golf NZ, Special Olympics NZ, Tennis NZ, Sport Waikato, and Swimming Waikato, plus enterprise customers such as First National Real Estate. All prices are GST exclusive and freight is charged on all deliveries.

Name

Emblems NZ

Legal name

Emblems New Zealand Ltd

Website

https://emblems.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Emblems NZ is a Hamilton-based, family-owned New Zealand manufacturer and e-commerce retailer of medals, trophies, badges, name badges, plaques and promotional products, serving sports clubs, schools, corporate clients, and individuals nationwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Hamilton

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Product Sales (Medals, Trophies, Badges, Name Badges, Plaques): The primary revenue stream comes from the sale of physical award and recognition products including medals, trophies, badges, name badges, plaques, and promotional products. Products are sold individually at fixed unit prices with customisation options. The company offers both standard catalog products and custom-made items.
2. Custom Design and Manufacturing Services: Custom design services for bespoke trophies, medals, badges, and awards. This includes artwork proof creation, vectorisation of artwork, and manufacturing of unique one-off pieces. Prices are quoted per project with an artwork proof rate of approximately $110.00/hr.
3. Engraving Services: Engraving services for trophies, medals, and other products using computer engraving machines or pantograph machines. Engraving is charged as an add-on to base products, with options for date-only engraving (~$3.00), text lines (~$20.00-$31.50), and basic or complex logo engraving (~$45.00-$90.00).
4. Sandblasting Services: Sandblasting services for glass and crystal awards including sand-carving techniques. Offered as add-on customisation to crystal and glass products, typically adding $50.00 for small sandblast work.
5. Digital Printing and Custom Decoration: Digital printing services on various surfaces and products, including colour printing on glass, plastic and metal. Offered as add-on customisation with prices varying by product and complexity.
6. Framing Services: Full framing service for precious items or products needing display, offered as an additional service.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Emblems NZ designs, manufactures, and sells custom and standard medals, trophies, badges, name badges, plaques, and promotional products for sporting, academic, and corporate recognition in New Zealand. The company operates its own manufacturing workshop equipped with laser engravers, digital printers, sandblasting equipment, and pantograph machines, and ships products nationwide daily from its Hamilton base.

Product overview

Emblems NZ is a New Zealand-based manufacturer and retailer specializing in awards, recognition products, and promotional items. The product portfolio centers on medals (academic, budget, custom, and standard sporting), trophies and awards (silver cups, crystal awards, glass awards, acrylic awards, resin trophies), badges (metal badges, school badges, custom badges), name badges, plaques (door, desk, premium, industrial, custom), and promotional products. The company offers both standard catalog items and custom-designed pieces, with manufacturing capabilities including engraving, sandblasting, digital printing, laser engraving, and casting. Services include design consultation, proofing, and engraving with a standard 10-working-day turnaround.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Medals A complete range of medals including standard sporting medals, academic medals, budget medals, and custom medals available in gold, silver, and bronze finishes, designed for sports clubs, schools, and event organisers.
• Trophies & Awards A wide range of trophies including silver cups, crystal awards, glass awards, acrylic awards, resin trophies, and custom-designed awards for sporting events and corporate recognition.
• Badges Metal badges manufactured for schools, corporates, and clubs including pins, buttons, fabric badges, school badges, custom badges, and souvenir badges.
• Name Badges Standard and custom printed name badges for staff identification, offered as New Zealand's largest name badge manufacturer with five-day turnaround for NZ orders.
• Plaques Recognition plaques in brass, aluminium, wood, and acrylic including door plaques, desk plaques, premium brass plaques, industrial plaques, and custom signage.
• Promotional Products Branded promotional items including printed woven bags, hats, pens, lanyards, key tags, bore probes, and business card holders for corporate branding.
• Custom Design and Manufacturing Services Bespoke trophy, medal, badge, and award design and manufacture service with artwork proof creation, vectorisation, and one-off piece production from concept through to finished product.

Quantifiable outcome

• Standard project turnaround of 10 working days with expedited 'Speeding Bullet Service' available.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Golf New ZealandminorOthersListed as a preferred customer/supplier on the Emblems NZ website. Golf NZ sources medals, trophies, and awards from Emblems NZ for their events and recognition programmes.
• Gymnastics New ZealandminorOthersListed as a preferred customer/supplier on the Emblems NZ website. Gymnastics NZ sources awards and recognition products from Emblems NZ.
• Netball New ZealandminorOthersListed as a preferred customer/supplier on the Emblems NZ website. Netball NZ sources medals and awards from Emblems NZ for their national competitions.
• Special Olympics New ZealandminorOthersListed as a preferred customer/supplier on the Emblems NZ website. Special Olympics NZ sources recognition products from Emblems NZ.
• Tennis New ZealandminorOthersListed as a preferred customer/supplier on the Emblems NZ website. Tennis NZ sources awards and trophies from Emblems NZ.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Stimpson Trophy & Awards: Stimpson Trophy & Awards is a US family-run trophy, medal and plaque retailer serving schools, sports clubs and corporate buyers. Strongly comparable as a similar-sized family-owned SME with e-commerce and in-house engraving capabilities.
• K2 Awards / K2 Trophies: K2 Awards is a UK trophy and awards retailer with engraving services and product categories closely mirroring Emblems NZ. Similar SME-scale direct-to-consumer model serving schools, sports clubs and corporate clients with mixed catalog and custom products.
• Trophy Awards: Trophy Awards is a US online trophy retailer with extensive catalogs of trophies, medals, awards, plaques and corporate gifts with engraving services. Same business model and customer type as Emblems NZ serving schools, sports leagues and corporate recognition programs.
• Award Pros: Award Pros is a US online trophy and award retailer offering trophies, medals, plaques, ribbons, glassware and corporate awards with engraving customization. Closely aligned with Emblems NZ on direct-to-consumer e-commerce model, product breadth, custom engraving, and sports club / corporate buyer segments.
• Trophies Plus: Trophies Plus is a US online trophy, medal and plaque retailer offering customization and engraving services to sports, school and corporate customers. Directly comparable business model, product range, and target buyer segments to Emblems NZ.

Emerging players

• Awardco: Awardco is a US employee recognition SaaS platform that has moved into merchandise and physical reward fulfillment. Represents the digital/online threat and adjacent peer in the broader recognition products space that Emblems NZ could face as recognition programs move online.

Broad incumbents

• Terryberry: Terryberry is an established North American employee recognition and corporate awards provider offering trophies, plaques and engagement programs. Comparable customer base and corporate recognition focus; broader as it bundles service-based recognition programs alongside physical awards.
• Crown Trophy: Crown Trophy is the largest trophy and award retailer in North America with hundreds of franchise and corporate locations. Directly comparable in product mix (trophies, medals, plaques, corporate recognition) and B2B school/sports/corporate customer focus, only at much greater scale and geographic reach.

Regional players

• Penguin Products (Australia): Penguin Products is an Australian supplier of trophies, medals, ribbons, badges and award products to sports clubs, schools and corporates across Australia and Asia-Pacific. Closest geographic peer operating in the same regional market with the same customer base and product mix.

Others

• TrendPac / Promotional Product Distributors (NZ): TrendPac is a New Zealand promotional product distributor serving similar SMB, school, sports, and corporate buyers. Not a direct trophy/award peer but competes for the same promotional merchandise wallet and could overlap in branded items, bags, pens, and lanyards.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/EmblemsNZ
• Instagraminstagram.com/emblemsnewzealand
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/emblems-nz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Emblems NZ