Instead, the Wholegrain Milling Company representatives had to wait until Monday to share their excitement with everyone at work, business manager Mathew Jensen said.

Mr Jensen said it was “humbling ... really satisfying and exciting” to have taken out the innovation award and then the big overall one last in the program.

With 10 staff members and partners at the awards, Wholegrain Milling was undoubtedly one of the best-represented businesses at the event.

Mr Jensen said they started off the 2017 New England North West Regional Business Awards night at Gunnedah Town Hall on September 1 “confident with what we had done, but reserved”.

“All the finalists were of such high quality and it was a really diverse group of businesses that obviously had major strengths,” he said.

“Reflecting on it, I feel were a very strong business that’s got some really strong points that we focused on for our application.

“From a local point of view, it just shows how rich in diversity we are; there are many, many diverse businesses in Gunnedah, all with our strengths ...

“From a business point of view, it’s just satisfying, you know?

“We often talk about momentum and momentum-building in our business – whether in sales or continuous improvement in manufacturing or production – and this is momentum-building from a team point of view.

“You wake up early the next mornnig and go, ‘Wow, did that just happen?’, then see all the social media and start to reflect on the evening’s events.

“It’s a pity we weren’t at work on Saturday, but it sure was exciting to see everyone again on Monday morning.”

​Mr Jensen said the next step for the team was “continuing this momentum that we’re on in terms of certified sustainable and pushing forward on sales and export”.

“We’re heavily focused on building our export component of our business and certified sustainable certainly has a place in that growth,” he said.

They’re also getting ready for their next appearance at the Fine Food Australia event in Sydney next week.

“It’s been exciting week, I can tell you that,” Mr Jensen said.

The 2017 NSW Business Chamber State Business Awards gala night will be held on November 17 at the International Convention Centre, Sydney.