Sweet Vegan Wins President's Choice Award at Candy Convention
A vegan chocolatier just took home one of the top honors at North America's oldest candy-industry gathering. Sweet Vegan, the Harlem-based, woman-owned chocolate company, won the President's Choice Award at the 2026 Retail Confectioners International (RCI) Candy Convention, held June 8 to 11 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.
Sweet Vegan is a Harlem-based, woman-owned vegan chocolate company founded in 2019 by Chef Andrea Young. It makes handcrafted chocolates and truffles that are entirely plant-based and allergen-friendly: dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, and preservative-free.
According to the company, RCI president Gregory Power presented the award at the convention's Candy Clinic, the event's product-innovation session where confectioners from across the United States and Canada trade their best ideas. The President's Choice Award singles out one standout entry from that field, making it a recognition from both peers and leadership at an organization that has run annual conventions since 1917.
For Sweet Vegan, the win lands on familiar ground. The company placed third for their Midnight Passion Ganache Dreamy Bite at the International Flavor Awards in 2025, so this year's top nod marks a clear step up at the same industry table, and notably for an all-vegan maker in a field still dominated by traditional dairy chocolate.
“I was completely surprised and honored to hear Sweet Vegan announced as the President's Choice Award winner at Candy Clinic,” said founder and CEO Chef Andrea Young, who attended the convention. She added that being recognized by some of the best confectioners in the country reflects her team's commitment to proving that allergen-friendly, vegan chocolate can be every bit as indulgent and premium as the traditional kind.
Founded in 2019 and run out of a shared commercial kitchen in East Harlem, Sweet Vegan handcrafts chocolates that are dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free, and preservative-free. The brand has built a strong local following, with a 5.0-star Google rating across more than 635 reviews, and has leaned into seasonal collections and corporate gifting as it grows. Young, a Parsons-trained former architect, has also made youth entrepreneurship and sustainability education part of the company's mission.
The recognition is a useful marker for the wider plant-based community: an industry body built around conventional candy handed its president's pick to a fully vegan, allergen-friendly maker. For founders in the space, it is a reminder that mainstream trade recognition is increasingly within reach. Sweet Vegan's chocolates are available at sweetvegan.nyc.
RECENT POSTS
Get the newsletter.
The funding rounds, founder moves, and industry shifts you need to know in plant-based and sustainability. Plus event invites and founder stories worth reading.