World-leading vegan & vegetarian trademark V-Label revealed the winners of this year’s International V-Label Awards at the Virtual Awards Ceremony held on November 3rd, coinciding with World Vegan Month.
All entries were carefully reviewed by a jury panel consisting of media and industry experts and NGOs. The International V-Label Awards also include a public voting round to determine the Special Consumer’s Award and a Special Influencer’s Award, voted by 15 international vegan content creators.
Meet the winners of the International V-Label Awards 2022:
Best Dairy Alternative: bettermoo(d)’s camembert and cream cheese range, Austria
bettermoo(d) is a plant-based dairy brand that claims to have a matching taste profile with the best-tasting dairy in the world. To emulate the milk taste from the Alpine regions, the company has created a plant-based dairy-alternative formulation to incorporate gluten-free, organic oats and an undisclosed blend of herbs to replicate what free-range pasture-raised cows eat.
Best Meat Alternative: VEGDOG‘s complete dog food, Germany
Dog owners concerned about their dog’s health and carbon-paw emissions (more than an SUV’s emissions in a year, as a 2009 study suggests) can rely on VEGDOG‘s innovation. The complete dog food range developed by veterinarians is 100% plant-based and gluten-free. VEGDOG is enjoying success with high demand for some of its products, considered by dog owners as an optimal alternative to regular meat-based dog food.
Best Fish Alternative: Bettaf!sh’s TU-NAH Spreads, Germany
Made from organic fava beans and seaweed, TU-NAH contains no soy or wheat and looks and tastes just like conventional canned tuna. Bettaf!sh rolled out at 4000 German supermarkets in October 2021 with its flagship TU-NAH sandwiches. The company has been rapidly expanding across Europe, with the pizza TU-NAH available at ALDI Switzerland and TU-NAH spreads set to launch in five countries.
Best Breakfast Meal: Vegablum‘s Wonig Honey Alternative, Germany
Founded in 2015, Vegablum offers a range of classic nettle, marigold, daisy, and dandelion jars of honey. The brand’s products are also free of palm oil, soya, gluten, and animal cruelty. Vegablum claims its products are similar in texture and taste to natural honey.
Best Ready Meal: Der Vegane Flammkuchen’s Flammkuchen with onions and schmecht, Germany
Der Vegane Flammkuchen makes organic and vegan Flammkuchen (a tarte flambée from Alsace), which the company claims to taste as good or even better than the classic ones. The brand offers three flavours: the winning Onions and Schmecht, Seven Vegetables, and Soy Cream.
Best in Confectionery and Snacks: VICI’s BIO gyoza dumplings and BIO gyozas with chickpeas, Lithuania
Born three decades ago, VICI is a popular Lithuanian brand in Europe. VICI products are developed by the Viciunai Group, which operates in Kaunas. The company offers a range of regular and vegan gyozas.
Best Functional Food (two winners)
– Les Bio Frêres’s Betwelve unicorn chewable tablets, France
Based in France, Les Bio Frêres develops organic & vegan food supplements using vitamins and minerals from natural sources. The brand says that its products are certified by independent organizations and declared to the authorities in France. Each batch is regularly analyzed for quality control.
– Moon Powder’s Superfood for women, Austria
Moon Powder is a health brand dedicated to woman’s wellbeing. The winning powder is the company’s Moonpowder series’ first product tailored to the cyclical needs of women. The powder is an Ayurvedic herb and adaptogens mix containing maca, Shatavari & hibiscus.
Best Free From (two winners)
– Gimber’s N° 2 Brut, Belgium
This alcohol-free beverage company makes all-natural, organic, clean-label drinks. Gimber uses a blend of ginger, lemon, herbs, and spices to make its “elixir oozes.” Brut No.2 is the brand’s newest development. The new ginger concentrate is low in sugar and is a refreshing drink with the brand’s signature ginger bite, says the company.
– Slendier’s Konjac Range, Australia
Slendier is a company that makes a range of pasta, noodles, rice, and pasta sauces, low in carbohydrates, calories, fat, and sugar. The company claims its products are high in fibre, vegan, and quick and easy to prepare. Its konjac range includes konjac noodles (also known as shirataki noodles), konjac pasta, and rice.
Best in Cosmetics: The Kind Lab’s VeganCare hair care range, Portugal
VeganCare is The Kind Lab‘s cosmetic brand that makes a range of shampoo and conditioner bars. The company’s mission is to create high-quality cruelty-free cosmetics with organic, pesticide-free ingredients.
Best in Textile: Boyteks Tekstil‘s Vegan Mattress Ticking, Nettle and Rose versions, Turkey
Boyteks Tekstil designs and makes mattresses “to keep us sleeping soundly and healthfully without harming people, the planet, or animals.” The company also produces the fabric and claims its vegan mattress quality is internationally accredited.
Best Household Product: Cleanly’s Eco laundry sheets, Slovakia
Under the slogan “For better future,” Cleanly makes laundry strips with the following advantages: 30 times fewer transport emissions; no plastic waste; uses recycled paper packaging; does not need a cup for measurement; saves you from spilt liquids; saves electricity, it dissolves even at 30°C; has no added perfumes or other unnecessary substances and its composition does not endanger water or any aquatic life.
Best in Sustainability: Oeding Print’s Vegan printing service, Germany
Located in Braunschweig, the Oeding Print service company uses printing and auxiliary materials following Blue Angel’s DE-UZ195 environmental certification, which guarantees animal-free ingredients (vegan). The company claims to be one of Europe’s most sustainable print service providers, committing to proactive ecological and climate protection for many years.
Best in Positive Impact: Házikó Farm’s Funky Forest 100% pressed juices, Hungary
Founded in 2020, Funky Forest makes juice drinks using a technology that helps preserve fresh fruit’s original and natural flavors. Its products contain 100% fruit, carefully pasteurized at 80 °C for preservation and filled into environmentally-friendly glass bottles.
Best in Innovation: Migros’ V-Love The Boiled, Switzerland
Migros, Switzerland’s largest retail company, launched a vegan egg called The Boiled, its latest V-Love line’s plant-based product. According to Migros, The Boiled is made with fourteen different ingredients but gets its protein from soy.
Best Ingredient Innovation (B2B): Givaudan’s Primelock+, Switzerland
In February, Givaudan launched PrimeLock+, the company’s natural and vegan-friendly solution that mimics animal fat cells, enabling food companies to develop more taste-realistic plant-based products.
Special Influencers’ Award: Oleatex’s leather from olive industry waste, Turkey
This B2B company uses waste material from the olive industry to produce “the only olive-based leather in the world.” Oleatex is plant-based, 100% vegan, sustainable, and crafted with an awarded formula.
Special Consumers’ Award: LIDL’s Vemondo Range, Germany
LIDL’s private label includes 50 plant-based products ranging from meat alternatives to vegan yogurts and desserts. Vemondo launched in 2021; since then, it has rolled out into further markets. The brand was nominated for Best in Sustainability at the V-Label awards 2021. Its Pizza con Salsa di Pomodoro was awarded 6th place in the World’s 10 Best Vegan Frozen Foods of 2022 awards by abillion.
“We’re on the verge of entering an age where the fear of giving up cheese will no longer be a valid argument for not going vegan – not with bettermoo(d)’s camembert and cream cheese range, anyway,” said Nikolett Konkoly, program manager of the International V-Label Awards.
