About the challenge
Our food choices have a significant impact on our health, society, and the environment. A plant-based diet is a multiproblem solution to several key global problems, including climate change, food security, animal welfare, and health and pandemics.
The Food Innovation Challenge will give students the chance to gain valuable insights into an exciting and fast-growing industry while channeling their creativity and skills toward solving some of the biggest challenges facing the world today. We invite university students from all academic disciplines to take part in the challenge.
Students from all over the APAC region are invited to participate in this year’s edition of the Challenge. Students enrolled in universities from other continents are also welcome to participate by forming teams with students enrolled in APAC universities.
Please click here to download the Idea Submission Template and register your details for updates about the ProVeg Food Innovation Challenge (FIC).
Timeline
20 Oct 2023
Early-bird Submission
20 Nov 2023
Proposal Submission Deadline
Dec 2023 / Jan 2024
Final Presentations
Innovation topics – 2023 APAC Challenge
Beyond Meat: plant-based meat
Since its launch in Asia in 2020, Beyond Meat has introduced a product portfolio that includes plant-based minced beef, minced pork, beef patties, and breakfast sausage patties. Beyond Meat invites you to develop a concept for their next new product, along with a launch plan and details about the product’s key competitive advantages.
Cargill: plant-based seafood
Design a plant-based fish/seafood innovation and develop an omnichannel business plan for a market in the APAC region. You’ll need to take in account local consumer needs, regulatory requirements, and competitive differentiation, and provide a feasible plan for taking the product to market.
CPF: plant-based ready meal
Develop a range of healthy and nutritious plant-based ready meals to be sold in convenience stores. You’ll need to identify target consumers as well as key points of differentiation, and price levels. Please also provide details of a launch plan.
Green Rebel: plant-based steak
Use Green Rebel’s Steak or Dairy-free Cheeze to develop a series of applications. You’ll need to identify food-service customers and develop a marketing strategy to promote the products and penetrate the markets in Southeast Asia (Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines).
Haofoods: plant-based chicken
Haofood’s latest product, Carefree Pulled Chickless, is a clean-label* plant-based-chicken product made from peanuts. Please provide recommendations of applications for the product, along with detailed price points and a launch plan for your application.
*Clean-label products are made without any artificial additives, preservatives, thickeners, water-retention agent, colourings, flavourings, or MSG.
Nestle: plant-based solution
Develop a plant-based food and/or beverage solution for the Asia market that is targeted at health-conscious young adults. You will need to take taste, nutrition, cost, and scalability into account, as well as provide evidence of any health or sustainability claims.
Shuangta: plant-based egg
Shuangta is one of the world’s largest plant-protein manufacturers.We invite you to develop a plant-based-egg solution using plant proteins. The proposal should include details of product format (e.g. liquid, solid, powder), packaging, shelf life, pricing, and target applications (culinary, baking , ready-to-eat, snacking etc.)
Thai Union: plant-based cuisine
Thai Union recently launched a plant-based shrimp dumpling, with great success. For new future products targeting culinary applications for younger Asian consumers, propose culinary applications targeted at younger Asian consumers using Thai Union’s plant-based seafood products – tuna, shrimp, crab – as ingredients.
Unilever: The Vegetarian Butcher product
Develop a new product for Unilever’s The Vegetarian Butcher brand. Identify target, pricing, and usage occasions, as well as providing a detailed launch plan.
Unlimeat: plant-based home meal
Develop concepts for plant-based ready meals for a market in the APAC region. This could be a stand-alone item or part of a a product range. You’ll need to Identify target consumers and provice a packaging design along with a comprehensive launch plan.
Zuming: soya-based food/drink
Zuming is the first publicly listed soya-based food company in China. Design a soya-based food or drink that is tasty, nutritious, and environmentally friendly, and which is targeted at Gen-Z consumers. You’ll need to Identify target consumers, pricing, and usage occasions.
Selection Criteria
Market Potential: 30%
projected revenue, profitability, and growth opportunities, taking challenges and available alternatives into consideration.
Feasibility 30%
feasibility of product (or campaign) ideas, including formulation, manufacturing, supply chain, and distribution.
Product uniqueness: 20%
clear explanations on how your project is innovative and different from what is currently available in the sector.
Go-to-market strategy: 20%
Apply now
WHO CAN TAKE PART?
Students currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate programmes at universities and colleges.
Teams can include students from different disciplines, different schools and different regions. Each team must have at least one student enrolled in college in APAC.
Teams must have a minimum of two and a maximum of four people.
You have great food-innovation ideas (no prototype necessary).
Why take the challenge?
Personal Development
- Gain food-innovation experience and recognition through participation in real-world challenges while honing essential innovation skills
- Receive expert mentoring from key industry professionals, as well as potential career opportunities (internships/full-time positions)
- Network with representatives from leading organisations and peers from Asia-Pacific countries.
Credentials
- Certificate of participation
- Chance to present your ideas at the UN Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai in December
Cash Prize
- Get the chance to win a share of cash awards totaling 10,000 USD.
Please click here to download the Idea Submission Template and register your details for updates about the ProVeg Food Innovation Challenge (FIC).
Awards
2nd
place
1,500 USD
2x
1st
place
3,000 USD
3rd
place
1,000 USD
3x
Finalists 200 USD
- ● Finalist teams will have a chance to be coached by experts from participating companies.
- ● Selected teams will also have the chance to present their ideas online at the UN Climate Change Conference – COP28 – Food4Climate Pavilion hosted by ProVeg International.
- ● Participants will be awarded with a ProVeg Food Innovation Challenge certificate.
How to submit your Innovation Idea
Step 1: Apply to get the template and get inspired to create your final deliverable
Step 2: Form a team and pick your innovation topic among those given by our industry partners
Step 3: After you and your team have finalised your innovation idea, upload it using the form below before November 20th!
Please click here to submit your proposal for the 2023 ProVeg Food Innovation Challenge (FIC)!
Final submission date is 20 November (00:00 GMT+8)
STUDENT SUPPORT
Find Your Teammate
Do you need help finding a teammate? Scan the QR code to apply and we will do our best to set you up with your dream team. We will pair up students as soon as we receive applications. You have a chance to be paired with students in different regions!
English-language Support
The Challenge requires all proposals to be submitted in English.
If you need English-language support for your proposal, scan the QR code in advance to apply for volunteer support for half an hour, one week before early submission on 20 October and one week before final submission on 20 November. (Subject to availability)
Most Creative Promotion Awards
We encourage students to develop creative posts on TikTok, Instagram, and Redbook in order to invite other students to participate in the challenge. Use the hashtag #ProVegFoodInnovationChallenge and make sure you make your posts before 11 November.
The three students with the most creative posts will each receive a 150 USD gift certificate! There will be one gift certificate each for Instagram, Tik Tok, and Redbook.
Opportunities
