Campden BRI has announced that five teams have been shortlisted to face a panel of industry ‘dragons’ in the Ecotrophelia UK final. Now in its fifth year, Ecotrophelia challenges teams of UK students to develop an innovative, eco-friendly food and drink product.

The competition has been fierce this year, the company said, with more teams than ever competing for a place in the final and a slice of the £3,500 prize fund.

"It’s fantastic to see so many young people engage with this competition and put forward such innovative products,” said Bertrand Emond, Head of Membership and Training at Campden BRI. “Last year’s winning team went on to win bronze prize in the European final with their algae based iced dessert so we have high hopes for the teams again this year."

After much deliberation, a panel of new product development experts has seleced the five finalist teams’ products:

Colipop: A cauliflower based savoury snack that uses advanced techniques in tunnel drying systems to create crunchy cauliflower bites without the need of frying – University of West London

Lagom Veg: Dried spiralised vegetables infused with chilli and lemongrass that makes infused ‘spaghetti’ when hot water is added – Nottingham Trent University

Yasai Caulirice Sushi: Sushi style rolls that combine crunchy cauliflower rice with fresh-tasting vegetables – University of Reading

Chocolate Strawberry Torte Donut: A baked cacao donut that has been dipped in dark chocolate, sprinkled with freeze dried strawberry pieces and topped with a dairy free white chocolate drizzle – University of Reading

Windfall Fruit Jelly: natural jelly desserts made without gelatine and suitable for vegans. Made from fruit juice, no added sugar or preservatives from fruit which would normally be wasted – London Metropolitan University.

The finalists will pitch their products to the dragons on June 6th and the winner will be announced on June 7th at Campden BRI’s open day.

The ‘dragons’ are senior food experts from across industry including Marks and Spencer, Coca-Cola, Unilever, PepsiCo, Mondelez, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Warburtons, Food Manufacture, Institute of Food Science and Technology and Campden BRI.

This years entries included teams from London Metropolitan University, Nottingham Trent University, The University of Reading, The University of Nottingham, CAFRE, Harper Adams, Cardiff Metropolitan and The University of West London.

The winner will go on to represent the UK and compete against 19 other European national teams at the Ecotrophelia European final at Food Matters Live in London in November 2017.

The UK heat of this Europe-wide competition was organised by Campden BRI in conjunction with the Institute of Food Science & Technology, the independent qualifying body for food professionals in Europe.