SUN VALLEY – A team of food science students from Utah State University won the 2024 Idaho Milk Processors Association’s new product competition, held last week. USU’s Cache Cookies with a dairy dip earned them bragging rights and $10,000. Their product was introduced at IMPA’s annual meeting in Sun Valley, Idaho.
The contest was sponsored by Dairy West and judged by leading dairy farmers and industry experts. The annual contest challenges universities with strong nutrition and food science programs to create the most promising new food product containing at least 50 percent dairy ingredients.
Organizers say the contest motivates students to get involved in the dairy industry and provides an opportunity for them to grow, learn and gain leadership skills.
New Product Competition Chair Alan Reed was impressed with the incredibly innovative ideas students bring to the table each year, which he says is remarkable, and it’s very exciting for the industry.
“When we launched the competition 16 years ago, the teams were just suggesting basic, traditional dairy products and a few new flavors,” he said. “Now we’re seeing true innovation, and collectively I think this is the best group of new products students have entered since we began the competition.”
Dr. Eric Bastian, vice president of industry relations for Dairy West and director of the Western Dairy Center at Utah State, agrees.
“We always see outstanding product concepts in our competition. And I am increasingly impressed with the submissions that our students continue to make,” he said. “The dairy food science talent we have in our universities shows that there is substantial interest in dairy production, dairy manufacturing and dairy innovation.”
This year’s grand-prize winner, Utah State University, says its Cache’s Cookies were inspired by Italian cannoli. The combined cookie and Ricotta-based dip contains over 60% dairy ingredients, more than meeting the IMPA competition requirement for at least 50%.
The dip portion of the winning entry was based on smoothed Ricotta blended with cream cheese and milk chocolate chips. One serving of Cache’s Cookies provides six grams of protein and 15 percent of the daily vitamin A requirement along with 110 mg of calcium. The USU team also said they thought consumers like the spontaneity of picking up a small treat or dessert throughout their day.
Cache’s Cookies are an indulgent and rich product but will still cater to consumers who are looking for a treat with a good source of Vitamin A and protein, matching current health trends.
The USU team was comprised of Taelie Kennedy, Sarah Petmecky, Sam Clark, Abri Paez and Nabila Anjum with Dr. Prateek Sharma and Annalisa Jones as co-advisors.
Brigham Young University submitted Kefibars, a frozen nutrition bar that doubles as a dessert. BYU captured second place and $5,000.
South Dakota State University, which submitted a concept for Spicy Cheesy Cubes, created as a snacking option using cheese cubes with natural seasonings with the cheese cubes being retort processed in glass jars without the cheese melting. SDSU captured third place, and the team took home $3,000.
The Idaho Milk Processors Association (IMPA) is a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote the Idaho dairy industry, cooperate with all organizations that work to advance and develop it, hold annual conferences focusing on subjects relative to the processing of milk and milk products, and act in unison in matters affecting the welfare of all dairy interests. Now in its 93rd year, IMPA amended its bylaws at its 2019 annual conference to bring Utah processors into the fold.