Chocolate producer Gudrun is the first contender for ‘Voka Prize for Entrepreneurship 2024’

Chocolate producer Gudrun from Lier is the first contender to win the ‘Voka Prize for Entrepreneurship 2024’ on September 26. The praline manufacturer has already received the Voka Lokaal award for the Neteland region, where the company is active, from ex-Miss Belgium Celine Van Ouytsel. Thanks to this award, they are now nominated and have a chance to win the big ‘Voka Prize for Entrepreneurship’. Over the next four weeks, Celine Van Ouytsel, together with the Voka Mechelen-Kempen team, will announce the nine nominees.

Gudrun has been around since 1942 and makes Belgian pralines and truffles. There are now 170 employees with 29 different nationalities working there. “People will not immediately know the name ‘Gudrun’. Because we work under a private label. That is why I am really happy that we as a company and as a name win this award,” says Sofie De Lathouwer, CEO of Gudrun for almost 3 years. “Our share in Belgium is just under 5 percent. The majority of our production – pralines and truffles – is destined for abroad. We are located in America, England, Japan and Canada, among others. But we do it all from Lier. From here we live up to Belgian chocolate pride. That is why the recognition we now receive from Voka means a lot.”

Durable products
Greening and renewing. Those words are firmly in Gudrun’s DNA. In 2022, Gudrun signed the Beyond Chocolate charter – in honor of their 80th anniversary. An initiative to promote sustainable chocolate. “For example, we recently presented a praline with a unique filling: white pulp from the cocoa bean. In this way, we are upcycling. This means that we recover materials that would otherwise end up in the waste stream,” says De Lathouwer.

“The flavors of the chocolate are of course top-notch. But the entrepreneurship that Sofie and her team radiate, far beyond Lier, is even more so. That ambition and healthy vision have ensured that Gudrun was nominated for the award by our local entrepreneurs.” , says Claudia De Moor, chairman of Voka Lokaal Neteland. De Moor, together with her brother Marc, heads the Vosschemical Benelux family business.

To vote
From June 1, 2024, everyone can vote on the Voka website for their favorite company. This way you can give the company in its region a boost towards the finals. A professional jury will make the final decision. On September 26 we will know who the big winner of the 2024 Entrepreneurship Prize will be.