The Dairy Research Institute, through the support of the dairy checkoff, announced the winners of the inaugural Dairy Research Institute New Product Competition during a July 16 ceremony at the 2012 American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) Meeting.
July 17, 2012
The Dairy Research Institute, through the support of the dairy checkoff, announced the winners of the inaugural Dairy Research Institute New Product Competition during a July 16 ceremony at the 2012 American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) Meeting. The competition is designed to help inspire dairy innovation by challenging college students to develop dairy-based products that meet consumer needs. This year, participants were tasked with creating a dairy beverage that included more than 51% of fresh milk, dry milk, or other dairy ingredients.
The competition was open to undergraduate and graduate students who submitted entries as individuals or teams. Three winners were selected from 18 entries. The first-place team, receiving $8,000, is Clemson University with oat-infused vanilla milk. Created with health-conscious adults in mind, the winning product, dubbed tOATal Milk, is an oat-infused vanilla milk enhanced with protein, probiotics, conjugated linoleic acids (CLA), and fiber. The entry caters to the growing sports performance beverage market and leverages the benefits of protein shakes and grain/nut milks while delivering the nutrition dairy provides. With 14 g of protein and 4 g of fiber per serving, this beverage has a light, sweet flavor profile. By combining the techniques used in the production of fluid milk and beer, the team was able to develop this product with only slight modifications to traditional dairy processing equipment.
The second-place team, receiving $5,000, is Mount Saint Vincent University with its on-the-go mango drinkable Greek yogurt. Building on Greek yogurt’s popularity in the marketplace, Mighty Mango is an on-the-go drinkable yogurt that the students marketed for consumption post exercise. Targeted to health-conscious women, Mighty Mango contains nearly 10 g of protein and fewer than 200 calories per serving.
The third-place team, receiving $3,000, is University of Tennessee with a caffeine-enhanced drinkable yogurt with antioxidants. With the average amount of caffeine found in one cup of coffee (100 mg) in a drinkable yogurt consistency, Wired Berry, taps into this growing market. Developed with teenagers and young adults in mind, the product is a healthy alternative that provides antioxidants, vitamin C, calcium, and protein in addition to caffeine. Made with low-fat yogurt, the product is flavored with blueberry and strawberry purees and contains 190 calories per serving.
The judging panel, composed of experts from the dairy industry, media, suppliers, and members of the Dairy Research Institute, selected the winners. In addition to the final product, the six finalists also were evaluated on the merits of a cover letter and preliminary report, a final report, and webinar presentation.
The Dairy Research Institute will launch the second annual New Product Competition this fall with a focus on breakfast. The 2012-2013 Dairy Research Institute New Product Competition will challenge students to incorporate dairy and dairy ingredients in a new way into “the most important meal of the day.”
Press release