Project work
In the final year, Undergraduate students on each of our courses in the School of Food Science and Nutrition undertake a team-based project on Food Product Development aimed at tackling a real-world challenge. This project builds on the skills learned throughout the course relating to product and recipe development, sensory analysis, food & nutrient composition, packaging & food labelling. and shelf-life testing, and allows students to experience the full process involved in developing and presenting a new food product.
In this Food Product Development (NPD) project, you and your teammates will work in our Food Technology laboratory to design, test and develop a new product fit for market. At the end of the project you will pitch your product to a panel of food industry and academic judges in a ‘Dragons' Den’ style competition, and answer questions based on your innovation, development process, consumer research and marketing strategy.
Previous product themes, for which students teams have designed and produced food products, include:
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Eco-innovation
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Healthy fast-food
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Restricted calorie
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Prolonged shelf-life
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Utilising food waste
Here are some examples of final products pitched at the Dragons’ Den event:
The Firth Quarter 'Irresistible Italian Offal Meatballs’
'Irresistible Italian Offal Meatballs’ is ready meal product, composed of high-quality offal meatballs in a chunky vegetable tomato sauce. It stands out due to the health benefits of offal, the popularity of meatballs with British consumers, and the increasing environmental issue of offal waste in the UK.
Faba Delight
FabaDelight is a guilt-free, eco-innovative Strawberry Daiquiri flavoured chilled dessert. The product contains no allergens and is vegan-friendly through the use of drained chickpea water (aquafaba), making it unlike any other chilled dessert available in the market.
In addition to undertaking a New Product Development project, you will also have the opportunity to carry out a laboratory-based research project for your dissertation. Visit our Facilities page for some examples of what our school can offer in research projects.