HEALTHY sweets may be unheard of – until now.
A Stratford entrepreneur has been recognised after inventing sugar-free treats made from real fruit.
Clever Sweets founder Louise Carr Smith was among those honoured by Innovate UK’s Women in Innovation Awards which recognises female entrepreneurs for tackling some of society’s biggest challenges.
Many of the ideas have been borne out of a response to challenges emerging from the pandemic, climate crisis and healthcare.
And Louise was among 38 pioneering women across the UK to be awarded a cash injection of £50,000, as well as coaching to help her scale up while bringing new, disruptive products and services to market.
Louise said: “Many children just don’t get the important nutrients in their diet when processed foods are prevalent.
“Our sweets become a ‘trojan horse’, parents can treat their children with the peace of mind it is benefiting them. I am delighted and thankful to have won the Innovate UK’s Women in Innovation Award – it feels so empowering.”
The flagship Women in Innovation Awards is a key part of Innovate UK’s commitment to boosting the number of UK female entrepreneurs.
According to the recent Rose Review, if women started and scaled businesses at the same rate as men, it could add up to £250 billion to the UK economy.
Innovate CEO Indro Mukerjee said: “We have an incredible opportunity to make a real difference to the talent and skills pipeline for UK business innovation by inspiring, involving and investing in greater diversity. With practical actions like our Women in Innovation programme, we can help make a real difference to developing the successful innovators and businesses of the future.”
Visit ktn-uk.org/programme/women-in-innovation for more information.
