Student food innovation to be rewarded

Campden BRI and the Institute of Food Science & Technology (IFST), have scored a UK industry first with the launch of 'Ecotrophelia Europe' - a prestigious European-wide food innovation competition which promotes innovation, creativity and sustainability to students pursuing a career in the food sector.

Backed by the European Commission in charge of Industry and Entrepreneurship and global brands such as The Coca-Cola Company and Nestlé, Ecotrophelia is a 'Dragons' Den–style' competition which challenges students to develop brand–new, innovative, eco–friendly food products, to win a share of a prize pot of up to €15000 (fifteen thousand Euros). The annual competition has been established since 2000 with 12 participating countries including France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Russia. 2013 will mark the first time ever that the UK has taken part in the initiative which not only attracts talented students from the food sector but also serves as an incubator for innovative ideas for the food industry as a whole.

The UK heat of the competition is being organised jointly by Campden BRI and the IFST and is open to teams of students from UK universities. Shortlisted students will be invited to pitch on 5 June 2013 to the 'dragons', a distinguished judging panel of top food industry specialists which will include representatives from PepsiCo, Sainsbury's, Warburtons, Coca Cola, Genius and defra, for a share of a prize fund worth over £3.5K.

The winning student team will be announced the following day at Campden BRI's annual, high–profile food industry event 'Campden BRI Day' on 6 June 2013. The successful students will then go forward as the UK entry to the European leg of the competition to compete with 20 other participating countries. The closing date for UK entries is Friday, 22 March 2013.

To find out more information about any aspect of Ecotrophelia Europe, visit https://www.ifst.org/ecotrophelia
or contact Campden BRI's training department on +44 (0) 1386 842104 or email training@campdenbri.co.uk.

To find out more about the eco-innovative food products developed by previous teams of students, visit the Ecotrophelia Europe's database of products at http://www.ecotrophelia.eu/?page_id=2208.