(8 Photos) Chinese Student Creativity Shines at USDEC Dairy Competition with Jiangnan University

Student competition in China serves as high-visibility platform to reinforce U.S. dairy ingredient innovation potential.

From cheese squares filled with wine or latte to snack-bite rounds developed to aid sleep, the teams of Jiangnan University (JU) students participating in USDEC’s “Tasty U.S. Dairy Cup” new product competition plumbed their imaginations to deliver innovation with U.S. dairy ingredients.

The contest is part of the student education component of USDEC’s partnership with JU. The purpose: elevate students’ knowledge and experience with U.S. dairy ingredients starting in the early stages of their education as an investment in the future. The contest and other student activities aim to ensure that U.S. dairy has a prominent place in their minds as they begin careers and become the next generation of food and beverage industry leaders.

USDEC’s “Tasty U.S. Dairy Cup” competition at Jiangnan University (JU) in China honored these students for their creativity showcasing the versatility of U.S. dairy ingredients. 

The theme of the inaugural competition was “dairy for healthy snacking.” Students were asked to utilize U.S. dairy proteins (and other dairy ingredients) to develop products that bring nutrition and/or “emotional satisfaction” to snacking. According to USDEC’s China office, Chinese consumers no longer choose a snack product only for hunger relief or self-indulgence but for other motives, like meeting a specific health need or simply showing off an interesting, “fun” or good-looking product on social media.

The judging panel selected overall first, second and third place winners, plus gave out additional awards for best creativity, best nutrition, best taste and best commercial potential.

The winners were honored last week during JU’s 2nd International Symposium of Innovation on Dairy Ingredients and Products. Experts from academia and the dairy and food industries gathered at the symposium to exchange information on the latest scientific and industrial developments regarding dairy ingredients and applications.

Most creative prize

A Sleepy Bite is a sleep-inducing ball made of milk powder, whey protein concentrate (WPC80), almonds, oats, coconut oil, tequila syrup, sour cherry and chamomile extract. 

Best taste prize

"Pretty" is a flavored beverage using milk and WPC80. Two flavors were featured: (1) lavender with blueberry, hibiscus, rose fruit, Schisandra chinensis and bamboo and (2) raspberry with guarana, rhodiola, rose, loshen flower and strawberry.

2^nd prize

Wine Aroma Rice Milk or Warm is a pudding snack made of rice wine, milk, cheese, WPC80, fresh flowers and fruits. Two flavors—mango/osmanthus and Chinese wolfberry/rose—were featured. 

And, the grand winner is.......

The big winner was a cracker-like product called “Cheeca,” formulated with mozzarella, WPC80, almond powder, cream cheese, sea salt and chia seeds. The team that developed it intended Cheeca as a component in ketogenic diets.

The partnership

USDEC representatives in China, staff from Jiangnan University, several representatives from local food and beverage manufacturers and a journalist from China Food Newspaper served as judges for the student competition. All of them agreed it was a huge success. 

The student competition served as a high-visibility platform to reinforce U.S. dairy ingredient innovation potential not only among the contestants but to the nearly 200 industry representatives in attendance at the Symposium, as well as to the attendees of two other events hosted by USDEC at Jiangnan University last week, including a Dairy Ingredient Student Lecture Series and a U.S Dairy Protein Innovation Workshop, bringing together the latest scientific and industrial developments regarding dairy ingredients their applications.

Amy Foor is vice president of global culinary education at the U.S. Dairy Export Council. 

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The U.S. Dairy Export Council fosters collaborative industry partnerships with processors, trading companies and others to enhance global demand for U.S. dairy products and ingredients. USDEC is primarily supported by Dairy Management Inc. through the dairy farmer checkoff. How to republish this post.