Dragon's Den 2019
The annual Dragons Den event sponsored by Marks & Spencer took place with our largest cohort of undergraduate students.
As part of module FOOD3371 students were given a brief to create, clean label innovative food to improve health with a focus on sustainably sourced ingredients.
There were 15 teams whom all created innovative products ranging from: Banging Brunch, Superfood Sorbet, Porridge Melts, Rainbow Pancakes and Chilled Vietnamese Pho – to mention a few.
The students were assessed by the ‘dragons’, mainly from industry on criteria such as product development, marketing and product launch, legislation and labeling meeting quality and safety requirements, commercial viability and industrial implementation and, of course, their presentation skills.
The dragons were:
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Andrew Downie – Head of Research & Development – Taylors of Harrogate
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Kelly Fortune – Development Manager – Apetito
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Mehdi Adjiri, Bakery Technologist – Marks and Spencer
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Anne Tallontire – Pro-dean for Student Education, Faculty of Environment
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Paul Kajda – Former Director for Student Education, School of Food Science and Nutrition
The dragons were impressed with the range and quality of products created, Mehdi from Marks & Spencer’s commented: “I can imagine these products on the supermarket shelf, they are innovative well thought out and fit with the current market trends.”
The winners for Dragons Den 2019:
3rd Place: Fibre Day, probiotic yoghurt drink to be consumed with breakfast or on the go
2nd Place (also winners of the student vote): The Green Blend, The Colour Kitchen developed a line of colourful healthy stir in sauces containing two of your five a day and providing a host of micronutrients.
1st Place: Bug Bites, naturally sweet and soft real fruit strawberry jellies with finely ground buffalo worms, providing an innovative twist to your lunch box. Each snack pack contains no added sugar, 1 of your 5 a day, and a sustainable source of protein from edible insects.
