The young businesswoman, from Heysham, Lancashire, beat stiff competition from England, Romania and the Netherlands to pick up the accolade at the 8^th annual awards ceremony in New York.

Shining a spotlight on women executives, entrepreneurs and organisations run by women, the Stevie Awards for Women in Business is an international competition produced by the creators of the American Business Awards and International Business Awards.

Melissa Burton commented: “I’m absolutely honoured and feel extremely humbled to have been recognised by The Stevies^®. Receiving this coveted award shows that dedication to your dreams and perseverance really do pay off.”

Burton is responsible for the Goody Good Stuff range, launched in August 2010, the products incorporate a revolutionary plant based gelling agent to create completely vegetarian natural gummy sweets. Now sold in over 5,000 stores and available in 25 export markets around the world – including Hong Kong, Dubai, Sweden, Guatemala, Canada, Singapore, France, Germany and the USA – the sweets are free from allergens, synthetic flavours and artificial colours.

The range comes in eight varieties, which are gluten-free, fat-free, meat-free, soy-free, nut-free, lactose-free and dairy-free, and suitable for those following halal, kosher or vegetarian diets. Four of the range are also suitable for vegans.

Melissa, was recently named as one of North West Business Insider’s 42 under 42 leading business figures in September 2011, has grown the market reach of Goody Good Stuff across the UK to some of the biggest names on the British high street, including Holland & Barrett, Waitrose, Booths, Whole Foods and Planet Organic.

Goody Good Stuff has also won accolades at The Vegetarian Society Awards and Cook Vegetarian Magazine Awards 2010.

Melissa continued: “It’s a huge honour to be pitted against the world’s most eminent female entrepreneurs. I’m looking forward to continuing to grow Goody Good Stuff and building on our success to date. I have a clear set of goals in my mind and am intent on creating more jobs and increasing export business for Britian.”

More than 1,300 nominations – a record for the competition – were submitted for this years Stevie^® Awards, for consideration in 78 categories, including Most Innovative Company and Best New Company of the Year.

The awards were hosted by Sara Eisen of Bloomberg Television and other notable winners on the night included Bill & Melinda Gates and Ramona Singer of The Real Housewives of New York City.

Nations represented among the Stevie^®  Award winners include Australia, Canada, the Dominican Republic, England, France, India, the United Arab Emirates, and the USA.

For further information, visit www.goodygoodstuff.com or email info@goodygoodstuff.com.