Sketchnote Christiane Manow-Le Ruyet
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June is already in full swing. However, at IO we’re taking a look back at May again. After all, we still owe you a Start-up of the Month! Each day, our journalists cover a cool European start-up story. Our editorial staff chooses a weekly winner from all these participants and these weekly winners will compete against each other for the monthly trophy at the end of each month. And as we are not averse to a bit of democracy, our readers also get to have a say.

The winner of the Start-up of the Month for May is… (drum roll) … Vali Sweet but different! A Flemish start-up that makes low-calorie and vegan delicacies. It is no longer necessary to turn down a slice of cake while your mouth is watering – because these cakes are low in calories and free of animal products without compromising on sweet flavors and colorful decorations. In the past, raw, vegan, and sugar-free snacks were never considered an appetizing alternative to their calorie bomb rivals. As a result, those who have a sweet tooth and who already have a few pounds too many are constantly tempted to stray from their good intentions. But why do those healthy alternatives often look so unattractive? There’s no need for that now is there?

Former triathlon athlete and dessert lover proves with her company that things can be done differently too. She created a number of surprisingly sweet options which also look amazing. Deraedt’s mission is to make vegan and sophisticated sugar-free delicacies for the future. Our jury selected Vali Sweet as their weekly winner and our readers felt the same way because they overwhelmingly chose Vali as their winner of the month!

[democracy id=”14″]

Check here for our previous monthly winners from 2019: Innovacarbon (June), Munevo (July), Metodo Sancal (August), E-bot7 (September), High Performance Battery (October), Field Factors (November), EC Sens (December). And from 2020: XYZ Dynamics (January), Emergency Eye (February), Secret City Trails (March), and en CC Diagnostics (April).

And very soon you’ll hear who gets to call themselves our very first Start-up of the Year!

Want to read more about start-ups? You can read all the articles in this IO series here.