Based in Diest (Flanders), CRV Corthouts launched an organic cake for children as early as 1985. Although the consumer trend to buy organic did not establish itself until years later, the family business has remained true to its sustainable vision ever since its inception. Continuous investments in the production equipment, quality control and product innovation ultimately resulted in the company’s international breakthrough in the niche of organic baby and children’s cakes. 

The company has experienced a lot of growth in the past five years, especially abroad: 95% of its turnover comes from exports, with the EU and the UK as the main focus. A product launch in Australia and New Zealand has also proved very promising.

Another nominee from Heverlee (Flanders), born global company XenomatiX specializes in multi-beam LiDAR technology, a laser system that emits tens of thousands of laser beams simultaneously to detect objects and accurately estimate distances. Multi-beam LiDAR has applications in smart cities, infrastructure and the manufacturing industry, but XenomatiX’s target market is the automotive industry, where the system is used in driver assistance systems and self-driving vehicles. 

More than three quarters of its turnover comes from exports. XenomatiX focuses on major automotive countries such as Germany, the US, China, Japan and South Korea. 

At Bogaerts Greenhouse Logistics, an engineering company from Hoogstraten (Flanders), everything revolves around products and technologies for the automation of manual activities in greenhouse cultivation. From harvesting carts and spraying machines to sorting and packaging lines: the company develops and manufactures all systems in-house and exports them to over 40 countries.  

Bogaerts Greenhouse Logistics also has its own R&D center, including a test greenhouse to try out prototypes in a realistic working environment. It also works with educational institutions on innovation projects, such as a harvesting robot for peppers.

Flanders’ only producer of soft gelatin capsules (softgels), Lambo Laboratories was founded back in 1865. Today, the Wijnegem company focuses on highly complex tailor-made formulas and exports to 30 countries. In addition to pharmaceuticals, the capsules are marketed in the niche of food supplements for humans and small pets. 

Lambo Laboratories strongly commits to product and process innovation, including a softgel based exclusively on vegetable gelatin, a halal line and a new production process for its pharma products. 78% of its turnover comes from exports.