Back Black Enterprise - comprised of year 13 young enterprise pupils Elle Scurr (18), Abbi Ayre (17), Sina Schaal (18) and Ashley Campbell (17) - is the company behind a roll-on black and white face paint which is proving to be a huge hit with All Blacks supporters.
"We always wanted to do something aimed at the World Cup because it's a good opportunity to make the most of," Elle said.
The costs associated with registering the face paint as All Blacks Rugby World Cup official supporters' merchandise were beyond the company's reach, so the product has instead been marketed at fans of all New Zealand sports teams.
The group initially approached manufacturers in France, but after being told they would need to place an initial order of at least 100,000 face-paint sticks, they settled on a Chinese manufacturer and ordered a more realistic 3000 packs.
That supply was quickly exhausted after a major New Zealand distributor put the product in fuel stations and convenience stores throughout the North Island, so a further 5000 packs were ordered. Wanaka and Dunedin Mitre 10 stores also sell the face paint.
When the girls pitched their product earlier this year to the Wanaka Chamber of Commerce they were told the idea would either "fly or sink", Abbi said.
More than 5000 packs have been sold, repeat orders are pouring in and the company now supplies more than 50 outlets throughout New Zealand.
After attending the recent Business Hall of Fame dinner in Auckland, Abbi made some key business contacts in Anne and David Norman - whose retail empire includes the Farmers chain - and subsequently secured a deal to supply Back Black face paint to all Farmers stores nationwide.
The business was financed by some of the girls' own funds, a grant from the Wanaka Chamber of Commerce and a $4000 "bridging loan" from the Mount Aspiring College Foundation. They have now broken even and are confident the product has staying power beyond the World Cup, particularly for major sporting events such as the America's Cup and the London Olympics.
"There's been a lot of people saying just skip university [and sell face paint] ... There's probably a high chance we will carry it on if demand picks up," Elle said.
