Our story
EnVie is a Belgian social enterprise located in Anderlecht (Brussels). EnVie prepares delicious soups from surplus fresh vegetables supplied by Belgian farmers. Our soups are produced by a team of enthusiasts who are (re)entering the labour market after a period of long-term unemployment.
EnVie was founded in 2018 by Naomi Smith, who was attracted by the concept of a socio-environmental and financially sustainable business. Before moving to Belgium, Naomi Smith experimented in England with a first social enterprise project based on the creation of soups with women in difficulty. When she arrived in Belgium, she sought to develop a similar business project, within the framework of a philosophy of support for vulnerable people, the problem of food waste and positive environmental change. A meeting with McCain Belgium, the world's leading potato company, made this project a reality in 2016.
In February 2018, the creation of enVie became a reality. Guided by McCain's experience, Naomi developed a business plan and succeeded in finding three additional partners from different backgrounds with operational value for enVie. In addition to their operational contribution, each partner has experience in sustainable and social engagement in different sectors, providing invaluable expertise for enVie's dual mission of fighting food waste & social inclusion.
"Colleagues have smelled it: you can't visit the EnVie kitchen without the smell getting into your clothes. And without the story behind it getting stuck in your head, too. Because the recipe for this soup from Anderlecht is a bit more unusual than many other supermarket products. This social enterprise's soup combines the tasty with the useful: it combats food waste by processing vegetables rejected at auction, and offers a springboard to the long-term unemployed by guiding them towards the labour market."
De Standaard, summer 2019