IFST and Campden BRI are pleased to announce the finalists of Ecotrophelia UK 2018. Student teams from University of West London, Cardiff Metropolitan University, University of Reading, University of Nottingham and London Metropolitan University will go on to compete at Ecotrophelia UK.
Now in its sixth year, Ecotrophelia challenges teams of UK students to develop an innovative, eco-friendly food and drink products.
The competition has been fierce this year, with more teams than ever competing for a place in the final and a slice of the £3,500 prize fund. A panel of product development experts carefully assessed the entries before picking the final five.
After much deliberation, a panel of new product development experts has selected the five finalist teams’ products:
- Fava Bomb: Fava bean ‘falafel-style’ savoury balls with a soft dip centre and a crunchy fava bean crust. They are a vegan on-the-go snack and perfect for a nutritious taste explosion! - University of West London
- Vegan Pizza with a Seaweed Base: A healthy, allergen free pizza with a seaweed base, topped with tomato sauce, roasted red pepper, chestnut mushrooms, courgette, red onion, black olives and vegan cheese - Cardiff Metropolitan University
- OAT-YOG Cacao, Cherry and Almond: A vegan, oat-based, vanilla yoghurt alternative, with a ‘supergrain’ cluster topping containing recycled oats, puffed quinoa and sorghum wheat. The clusters contain cacao, cherry and almond - University of Reading
- Pom Puffs: Spicy BBQ flavoured apple pomace and corn puffs - University of Nottingham
- FabaMallow: A luxury, vegan and eco-friendly marshmallow, made from aquafaba and apples, coated in dark chocolate - London Metropolitan University
The finalists will pitch their products to the dragons on 5 June and the winner will be announced on 6 June at Campden BRI Day.
The ‘dragons’ are senior food experts from across industry including Marks and Spencer (prize sponsor), Coca-Cola, Unilever, PepsiCo, Mondelez, Sainsbury’s, Warburtons, Tesco, Food Manufacture, Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) and Campden BRI. Additional sponsorship is provided by Food Matters LIVE.
This year's entries included teams from The University of West London, Cardiff Metropolitan University, The University of Reading, The University of Nottingham, London Metropolitan University, Nottingham Trent University, CAFRE, University of Leeds and Sheffield Hallam University.
The winner will go on to represent the UK and compete against 19 other European national teams at the Ecotrophelia European final at SIAL in Paris on 21 and 22 October 2018.