Websites pairing "sugar babies" with "sugar daddies" are increasingly popular among New Zealand users.

Eve, 19, is one of a growing number of New Zealand "sugar babies" – young, cash-strapped men and women who strike up relationships with wealthy people in exchange for money and gifts.

The Wellington woman signed up to SeekingArrangement.com, a website that matches babies with daddies, after reading about it on an anonymous message board app.

"Someone was talking about how much money they got, they were paying off their student loan."

Her first sugar daddy arrangement was short-lived, but lucrative. The week-long involvement yielded $8000 in cash and gifts.

The man bought Eve a new cellphone, DSLR camera, handbag and wallet, and paid her "a bunch of money" before she flew home the next day.

She never felt pressured to be intimate, she said.

"He was lovely, he was just like this big teddy bear."

SeekingArrangement has been in New Zealand since 2007 but experienced 94 per cent growth in users since January last year.

The site's public relations manager, Brook Urick, attributed the increase to a greater acceptance of "the lifestyle".

"Plenty of people are looking for the relationships our site offers, but don't generally voice their desires," she said.

"[The site] is a place where each person can be honest and open about their intentions and expectations."

2100 sugar daddies were registered. The average age for a sugar daddy was 42.