The Washington Red Raspberry Commission and Illinois Tech (IIT) Department of Food Science and Nutrition announced winning concepts from the new Food Product Innovation Student Competition, aimed at developing new product concepts for use by the Washington red raspberry industry. Seventeen master’s-level program students participated in the competition, forming five teams and five corresponding product concepts. Student groups presented their concepts to a panel of judges on Feb. 7 at Charlie Baggs Culinary Innovations studio in Chicago.

Winning concepts included: 

• First Place: Razz-Up! Ketchup 
• Second Place: Raspberry Boba 
• Third Place: Raspberry Marinade 

Honorable mentions were awarded to the Raspberry Breakfast Cereal Granola and Mango Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream.

“Cultivating the next generation of culinary innovators is both a privilege and a passion. Working on the competition with the students at IIT, sponsored by the Washington Red Raspberry Commission, has been a rewarding journey,” said Zal Taleyarkhan, Corporate Research Chef, Charlie Baggs Culinary Innovations. “Guiding them through the creative process and harnessing the vibrant essence of raspberry puree, with its bold flavor profile and natural sweetness, has truly been a testament to the endless possibilities within the culinary world.”

For the competition, each team was provided with frozen Washington red raspberry puree to experiment with and tasked with the creation of a product for the grocery/CPG market. Students were guided by IIT faculty and industry mentors to explore, develop and present their concepts. The concepts were judged on innovation, prominence of raspberry as an ingredient, appearance, taste and delivery, as well as the student presentation at the judging.