The winners of the inaugural Dairy Research Institute New Product Competition were announced during a July 16 ceremony at the 2012 American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) meeting in Phoenix. The competition is designed to inspire dairy innovation by challenging college students to develop dairy-based products that meet consumer needs. Click here to see Progressive Dairyman's "In Focus" feature about the competition. Participants were tasked with creating a dairy beverage that included more than 51 percent of fresh milk, dry milk or other dairy ingredients.
“The estimated $37-billion beverage industry presents significant opportunities for dairy-based drinks,” said Bill Graves, senior vice president, Dairy Research Institute.
“Generating ideas based on consumer needs and trends identified by the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, students demonstrated innovative ways that dairy can help meet this demand.”
Undergraduate and graduate students submitted entries as individuals or teams. Three winners were selected from 18 entries.
The first-place team, receiving $8,000, was South Carolina’s Clemson University with an oat-infused vanilla milk beverage enhanced with protein, probiotics, conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) and fiber. The entry caters to the growing sports performance beverage market.
The second-place team, receiving $5,000, was Mount Saint Vincent University (Nova Scotia, Canada) with “On-the-go mango” drinkable Greek yogurt.
The third-place team, receiving $3,000, was from the University of Tennessee and created a caffeine-enhanced drinkable yogurt with antioxidants.
Click here for more information about the winning products. PD
—From Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy news release
PHOTOS
TOP RIGHT: Mount Saint Vincent University took second place. From left: Mary (Molly) McCormick, Nadia Pabani and Athena Li.
MIDDLE RIGHT: The University of Tennessee team came in third. From left: Kristen Higginbotham, Megan Cole, Liz Newnam, Abby Roach. Kayley Ray is not pictured. Photos courtesy of Mount Saint Vincent University and University of Tennessee.
