ProVeg’s 2024 Food Innovation Challenge is launched this week and emphasizes the use of local ingredients
Cash rewards are up for grabs for inventive students across Asia who devise a new plant-based food product for the Asia-Pacific market.
This year’s Food Innovation Challenge, organized by food awareness organization, ProVeg International, calls upon undergraduate and graduate students to use local ingredients from their home countries to produce innovative products for use in the food service industry or for sale on supermarket shelves.
Winning students will reap a share of the $10,000 prize money on offer as well as potentially gain career opportunities with major food companies that partner in the contest. Partner companies this year include Beyond Meat, CJ Foods, CPF, DaChan, Mars, Monde Nissin, Thai Union and Unilever.
Teams that submit their proposals before 20 October will also get the chance to present their ideas at the UN Climate Conference, COP29, which takes place in Azerbaijan in November.
Shirley Lu, Managing Director of ProVeg Asia, said: “It is so important to invigorate the plant-based market with new products because a plant-based diet offers a multi-problem solution to several key global problems, including climate change, food security, animal welfare, and health and pandemics.
“The 2024 contest will set the stage for new products to be created by some of the most creative young food innovators across the Asian region. We are really looking forward to seeing the new entries for this year.”
Students at the National University of Singapore won the top prize last year with a plant-based shrimp product called “Keepin’ it Shrimple”. It impressed the judges because it offers an allergen-free option that is still not offered on the existing $1.2 billion global plant-based shrimp market. Two second prizes, of $1,500 each, went to students from China’s Jinan University for their “Light Chewing Plant Based Meat” and students from South China University of Technology for a sustainable, plant-based caviar.
Launched in China in 2020, the Food Innovation Challenge expanded to South-East Asia and now covers the entire Asia-Pacific region. This year is the fifth edition of the contest and will differ in that the challenge focuses on innovation using Asian local ingredients, combining global impact with local relevance.
“Participating students will get the chance to develop sustainable food solutions that not only address worldwide concerns but also preserve local culinary traditions and support community livelihoods,” Lu said.
“Through this unique approach, students can make a tangible difference in the future of food and sustainability.,” she added.
In 2023, the contest saw participation from a total of 384 teams made up of 1,093 students, from 23 countries and 260 colleges. Last year, the challenge also received the ‘Sustainable Business Award’ at the European Chamber of Commerce’s Decarbonisation Leader Award, in Shanghai, China. The award highlights ProVeg’s efforts in leading the way to empower students to be at the forefront of the sustainable transition.
The deadline for submitting ideas is 20 November. To enter, please click here.
To hear more about the contest, check out our Online Roadshow below:
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Notes to Editors
For media inquiries, email Peter Rixon at [email protected]
For scientific data about the benefits of plant-based eating, see our Food System Data website.
About ProVeg International
Our vision is a world where everyone chooses delicious and healthy food that is good for all humans, animals, and our planet. ProVeg International is a food awareness organization with the mission to replace 50% of animal products globally with plant-based and cultivated foods by 2040.
