As COVID-19 restrictions came into force back in March, we witnessed remarkable scenes of panic-buying from supermarkets and pharmacies. Shelves were stripped bare, not just of dry goods but toilet paper, hand sanitiser and the like.

As politicians pleaded with Australians not to panic, a number of small scale producers and manufacturers quietly stepped in to fill the gaps left by the restrictions in imports and increased needs for certain products.

As has so often been the case in Australia's recent history regional businesses brought their innovative business skills to the fore, not just to keep their businesses up and running and staff employed but to supply our communities with goods and services we could no longer source.

Other industries were hit with a need to find new buyers for their products as shutdowns saw restaurants close and tourism dry up overnight.

One industry in particular reacted promptly, with many of Australia's distilleries and artisanal spirit makers stepping into the gap to supply hospitals, medical centres and places with high people traffic with hand sanitiser to help prevent the spread of the virus.

North of Eden, an award-winning artisanal gin distillery on the south coast of NSW, was approached by local GP Duncan Mackinnon to supply the community with hand sanitiser in the early days of COVID-19. Showing the importance of local ties the founders of North of Eden, Gavin Hughes and Karen Touchie used their industry contacts to source the necessary raw ingredients, while community organisations such as the Lions Club stepped in to help with the financing.

Other businesses such as Cheese Therapy, an online cheese retailer have moved their business model to focus on small artisanal cheesemakers in Australia who have been badly hit by the summer's bushfires and the COVID-19 shutdown of the hospitality industry.

Meanwhile Orange-based engineering company TPR Engineering have expanded production from making motorsports equipment to include face shields and other related equipment to assist in stopping the spread of COVID-19.

The thing that unites these businesses is their location in regional Australia and their ability to adapt to changing circumstances. The adaptability isn't new. Grace Brennan founded Buy From the Bush in 2019 to promote small businesses in drought stricken regional areas.

Buy From the Bush started as a Facebook group which described itself as "A showcase of beautiful things" to buy from rural communities facing drought. A small way to invest in their future and help "#stuffthedrought" has ballooned beyond all expectations.

Speaking to Grace Brennan, it's obvious that the benefit of the campaign is more than financial.

"Much of this new revenue flowed back into rural communities...the profit generated from sales was enough to keep the bills paid, the lights on, food on the table, and water in the tank," she said.

The success also added to the employment opportunities in drought-affected areas with one in five businesses featured in a Buy from the Bush social media campaign hiring new staff. This doesn't even consider the number of entrepreneurs who were inspired to bring their business ideas to life after seeing the success of other start-ups.

In fact the success of Buy From the Bush has sparked a multitude of other initiatives, all looking to support small and regional businesses and startups. Mrs Brennan and her team have stepped in to help support local tourism in the wake of the collapse of international tourism during COVID-19.

"We hear time and time again how people in the city love investing in bush businesses and the joy that comes from truly connecting with someone who has created beautiful products or local shop-owners telling us of repeat customers who want to support their business," Mrs Brennan said.

"It is a reminder for us all of how communities come together during the toughest of times."

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