The Food Entrepreneurship Challenge is a yearly competition organised by the Department of Food Business and Development, Cork University Business School (CUBS). The Competition is for final year students of the BSc Food Marketing and Entrepreneurship Programme and has been running for a number of years. It has evolved into one of the flagship student entrepreneurship events in CUBS. Student groups enter the Competition with their fully developed concepts and business plans for new food products.
The Food Entrepreneurship Challenge 2023 is generously supported by ALDI Ireland. This strategic collaboration with ALDI greatly enhances the entrepreneurial mindset and creative skills of Food Marketing and Entrepreneurship students at CUBS. The students have the opportunity to pitch their ideas in a business setting with ALDI, who provide expert advice and guidance to the students. Through the ALDI Food Entrepreneurship Challenge, the students develop a range of graduate attributes such as resilience, independent and creative thinking, digital fluency and social responsibility, and future-proof their business skills for industry or as entrepreneurs.
This year's new food and drink products included a healthy chocolate mousse, chia pudding, hummus snack, fruit and veggie yoghurt for kids, noodles, gourmet dough balls, a cacao drink and a protein cookie pudding. Nine student groups prepared their business and marketing plans and pitched their ideas live to Ger McLoughlin, Buying Director (Produce) and Rachael O’Connor (Buying Director) at Aldi Ireland.
All groups demonstrated incredible resilience, enthusiasm, dedication and perseverance, all of them being critical characteristics of the entrepreneurial mindset. Sustainability in selection of ingredients, supply, packaging and diet was emphasised in the numerous projects. The judges awarded five prizes: Best Overall Business and Marketing Plan (Hum N’ Go: Sarah Ahern, Laura Hayes, Elva Kerr and Holly Sweetnam); Best Overall New Food Entrepreneurship Idea (Kakaw: Sam Golden, April Mulcahy, Reinier Offereins and Aidan Shanahan); Best Overall Branding, Visual Identity and Communications (Cocoro: Eimear Hurley, Mary Kate Moran, Heather Kennedy and Alison O’Mahony); Best Overall Innovative Idea (Nood Food: Laoise Beirne, Maeve Mannix Cantwell, Diarmuid Murphy and Hannah O’Neill); and Best Overall Sustainable Idea (Pota Chia: Kate Dilloughery, Elizabeth Moloney and Eve Murnane).
The Food Entrepreneurship Challenge 2023, organised by Professor Joe Bogue and Dr Lana Repar, gives students the opportunity and platform to showcase their hard work over the course of their Programme, and to lead by example in overcoming current business challenges, using their business and marketing skills, underpinned by innovation and sustainability.