When Maryze Zembowicz graduated in law in 2021, she knew she actually wanted to be an entrepreneur. Not worrying about neighbours' yard fencing, but getting involved in preventing food waste and contributing to better health. That thought became the catalyst for ChillBits, her startup that makes ice cubes from rescued vegetables, fruits and herbs. A simple but innovative concept that addresses two major societal challenges: food waste and unhealthy drinking habits.
An avid soda drinker, she was keen to switch to a healthier variant without sugar. "But I don't like water," she explains. "And there are no healthy alternatives. In the supermarket, you mainly find many syrups and other products with added sugars. No alternative is 100% pure nature." Thus began the experimentation in her own kitchen, from simple strawberry ice cubes to today's more complex combinations. "Over the years, the idea kind of evolved and grew into something beautiful."
With no background in the food industry, Maryze built everything from scratch. "In the beginning, I really had the mindset of being able and wanting to do everything myself," she says. "I soon found out that I needed help. A conversation with a large packaging manufacturer in Amsterdam set her on the right path. Through them, she got in touch with a freelance specialist who put her story on point, developed the design and the name Chillbits.
Launching a completely new product on the market takes a lot of lead time. This offers great opportunities and solid challenges, especially in the areas of sales and networking. Maryze got to know Midpoint Brabant through a contact at a food-startup event. After an introductory meeting, she got in touch with Emile Stappaerts from Midpoint, who now acts as her coach and mentor. "We speak monthly to go over the status. We break down my tasks and set goals for the coming month. Emile also helps me be more active in sales and forces me to make choices. What I like is that he pushes me to keep going when there is a rejection, for example, because of course, as a startup, you get those too."
The Connection, which Maryze also participated in, provided her with especially important leads. Particularly in getting to know better organisations that would eventually be interesting to market Chillbits with. "Looking behind the scenes at a party like Thebe is incredibly valuable to me. I can tell my story and learn about procurement processes, for example. I can then further fine-tune my offering based on that."
For a one-person business, this coaching is invaluable. "Because as a startup, entrepreneurship is sometimes just lonely," Maryze acknowledges. "It's kind of nice to have someone who says no ya, you're doing a good job." ChillBits, after an "all sides up" startup, is now strategically targeting the healthcare market. Although decision-making in large healthcare organisations takes time, she feels she is getting closer.
Thanks to a partnership with wholesaler Bidfood, Maryze has already had a look behind the scenes at the AMC. "I have a good story that connects with what is going on in healthcare and I think I have a great favour factor," Maryze said. With Midpoint as a stable factor and her own winner's mentality, Maryze is building a healthier and more sustainable future step by step, one ice cube at a time as she so eloquently puts it.
"I think it would be really cool to save a million kilos of fruits and vegetables. That's what I'm aiming for. But if I just convinced the neighbours around the corner to stop drinking soft drinks and just drink water with some vitamins, then I have actually achieved my mission."
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