After publishing its shortlisted finalists last month, the International V-Label Awards 2023 has revealed the winners across four categories: Sustainability, Innovation, Marketing & Branding, and the Consumers’ Choice Award.
It is fitting that these winners are named today, on World Vegan Day, and as we at vegconomist celebrate all in the space and their efforts throughout the year, we would like to celebrate and thank all of the winners for their efforts and achievements.
Sustainability
The Sustainability winners are:
- Bodegues Sumarroca — Producer of organic wine brand 2CV. The company has multiple sustainable initiatives, including reducing transportation emissions through lighter bottles, recycling corks into insulation, and boosting biodiversity on its vineyard estate.
- Farm Brothers — A cookie brand working with the Dutch Soil Foundation to improve the biodiversity of degraded farmland.
- Taucherli Chocolate — Producer of Fair Trade chocolate brand GROW Unmilky. The company reuses overproduced chocolate and works with Too Good To Go to reduce waste during distribution.
- Oleatex — A company turning olive waste into leather alternatives.
- DESSERTO — Makes sustainable biomaterials from cacti, which are grown through a carbon-negative farming process.
Innovation
The Innovation category winners are:
- WASTEA — Makes leather alternatives from upcycled tea waste.
- Fred’s Vegan — Uses chickpea cooking water (aquafaba) to make vegan mayo. The chickpeas are then made into snacks.
- Heura Foods — Recognized for its fish-style fillet with gluten-free tempura batter.
- Nestlé Health Sciences — Has developed Compleat Plant Protein 1.6, which provides complete nutrition for tube feeding administration.
- Lanbiotic — Produces LIPID CARE Probiotic Nourishing Cream, which uses a novel cultivated probiotics strain to treat eczema and dermatitis.
Marketing & Branding
This category was won by:
- TiNDLE — A plant-based chicken brand recognized for its bright color palette, storytelling, and chef collaborations.
- Heura Foods — Promotes its meat alternatives using science-backed content combined with attention-grabbing campaigns.
- Ritter Sport — Makes use of influencers and offline campaigns to position itself as a modern chocolate brand, despite 110 years of history.
- Plenty Reasons — A vegan butcher combining vibrant branding with close-knit consumer relationships.
- Vemondo — Lidl’s own-brand plant-based range promotes itself via ads on TV, radio, and social media, along with live events and cooking videos.
Consumers’ Choice Award
The winners in this round were determined by the public, who cast over 15,000 votes across nine subcategories. The successful companies and products are:
- Product Range — Vemondo by Lidl.
- Fish and Seafood Alternative — Veganer Räucherlax (vegan smoked salmon) by Aldi.
- Dairy Alternative — Vegan chocolate mousse by Lidl Belgium.
- Meat Alternative — FOOD FOR FUTURE Vegane Dino-Nuggets by PENNY.
- Confectionery, Snacks, and Condiments — Ritter Sport’s vegan range.
- Ready Meals — Dr. Oetker’s Bistro Spicy BBQ Vegan Baguette.
- Beverages — Schladerer’s Milder Bio-Naturschnaps natural schnapps.
- Functional Food — Herbivore Protein’s Caramel Pea Protein.
- Cosmetics — BeC Natura’s Huile SolÉ® tanning anti-aging natural oil.
“In recognizing these achievements, we celebrate more than just exceptional vegan products and innovations; we celebrate a movement towards a more ethical, eco-conscious world. The impact of these winners extends far beyond the boundaries of this competition; they are pioneers in shaping the pathway to a more compassionate and sustainable future,” said Nikolett Konkoly, V-Label Awards Program Manager.
The winners will be presented at Plant Based World Expo Europe, which takes place in London from November 15-16.