Yaye, an Aboriginal-owned skincare brand from Darwin, has won the inaugural Top First Nations Small Business Award at Power Retail’s All Star Bash.
What’s happening: At its 11th annual All Star Bash held in Melbourne on 12 March 2026, Power Retail introduced the Top First Nations Small Business Award for the first time, developed in partnership with Aboriginal Retail Australia.
Why this matters: For First Nations small business owners operating in retail and e-commerce, the award represents the first time a major industry body has formally recognised their contribution and entrepreneurship alongside Australia’s leading retail brands.
A Darwin-based skincare brand that draws on traditional Aboriginal bush medicines has made retail history, winning the inaugural Top First Nations Small Business Award at Power Retail’s All Star Bash in Melbourne on 12 March 2026.
Yaye, a 100 per cent Aboriginal-owned brand of bath and skincare products, took out the new category on its first appearance, recognised for its commitment to building across e-commerce, data and wholesale markets over the past 12 months.
A historic first for retail recognition
The award was introduced this year for the first time, developed by Power Retail in partnership with Aboriginal Retail Australia. Its purpose, as the organisers describe it, is to champion First Nations-led enterprises driving both commercial success and community impact through e-commerce.
Liz Liddle, Chair of Aboriginal Retail Australia, said the award sets a new benchmark for inclusion and recognition across the retail sector. “For the first time, First Nations retailers are being recognised through an industry award that acknowledges the contribution and entrepreneurship of First Nations brands,” Liddle said. “Celebrating First Nations retailers alongside Australia’s leading brands helps drive opportunity.”
The All Star Bash, now in its eleventh year, is widely regarded as Australia’s biggest retail industry celebration. This year’s event was held at Crown Palladium in Melbourne and hosted by Merrick Watts, with more than 300 submissions assessed across all categories by a judging panel of leading retail experts.
What Yaye built
Yaye is a Darwin-based business built around bath and skincare products that incorporate bush medicines, drawing on traditional Aboriginal knowledge and ingredients. Over the past year, the brand focused on strengthening its e-commerce foundations, building out its data capability and expanding into wholesale markets, the combination of which made it the standout entry in the inaugural category.
Liddle described the win as a reflection of the brand’s consistency and ambition. “The winner, Yaye, a Darwin based skincare business utilising bush medicines, demonstrated outstanding commitment over the past 12 months to development across ecommerce, data and building wholesale markets,” she said. “We can’t wait to see how this award creates more visibility and growth for Yaye.”
Why the award matters
For First Nations entrepreneurs operating in retail and e-commerce, formal industry recognition of this kind has been largely absent until now. Being celebrated on the same stage as Kmart, Myer, Bunnings and the other brands that dominate Australia’s retail landscape is a signal that the industry is beginning to broaden its definition of who belongs in the conversation.
The award also has a practical dimension. Visibility in industry awards creates commercial opportunities, opens wholesale conversations and builds the kind of credibility that helps small businesses grow faster than organic word of mouth alone. For a brand like Yaye, which is already building deliberately across multiple channels, that visibility could accelerate what is already in motion.
The introduction of the First Nations award was one of several new categories Power Retail added to this year’s All Star Bash, alongside recognition for viral moments and AI innovation, reflecting how rapidly the retail landscape is shifting. That Yaye was the first brand to win the award, and did so by demonstrating genuine commercial progress rather than simply existing, sets a strong precedent for what the category is designed to celebrate.
For more information, visit https://powerretail.com.au/events/all-star-bash/
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Bong Haslett
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