Ecotrophelia has the ambition to promote entrepreneurship and competitiveness within the European food industry by implementing a training network of excellence in food innovation and the organization of national and European food innovation competitions "The Student Awards of Food Innovation” a real eyeopener for the food industry. Ecotrophelia achieves the goal of bringing together students, teachers, researchers and professionals of the food sector in a network to think about tomorrow’s eco-innovative food products. Ecotrophelia Europe constitutes a life-size innovation laboratory for universities and students and a pedagogical model recognized by the European Commission. The competition offers a ground for fruitful exchanges between education and research sectors and the business world. For professionals from the food industries, Ecotrophelia is a great pool of talent, skill-sets and innovation.
The Dutch competion
TKI Agri&Food organizes annually the Ecotrophelia competition. This competition is open to student teams from scientific or commercial higher education, located in the Netherlands. The main goal of the competition is the creation of an eco-innovative food product prototype. Prototypes should be innovative and cannot resemble prototypes presented in earlier editions. The products should be attractive to large groups of consumers. The Ecotrophelia competition is organized in two phases:
Phase 1 -14 June 2024: The national final Ecotrophelia Netherlands. First price is € 1000, second price is € 400 and the third price is € 200. All team members will be provided with a certificate of participation.
Phase 2 - October: the European final, Ecotrophelia Europe. First price is € 6000, second € 4000 and third € 2000.
Target group
All students nutrition at MBO, HBO or university level. Participation is only possible through the educational institution. Each educational institution may form a maximum of three teams that may come from different studies or locations.
The team needs to register before 6 May 2024 via the registration module. After receiving this registration, TKI Agri & Food will send a confirmation email within two working days.
7 June 2023 at the latest the complete dossier must be submitted via
email
. After receiving the file, TKI Agri & Food will send a confirmation email within two working days. If for some reason this is not received by the submitters, they are requested to let this know as soon as possible on pain of exclusion from the competition. The participating teams will be informed within five working days of receiving the complete file with attachments about whether or not the file will be accepted.
The dossier consists of:
Technical description: Short technical description (1 A4) according to the template. This includes: team name, short project presentation; product name, category (snack, dish, dessert, drink etc), composition, process, packaging and storage; the innovative aspect.
Product description: Consists of presenting a new food product: recipe, method of preparation, technology, packaging, taste, odor and appearance. It will be indicated why the product is innovative. Attention is also paid to the possibility of industrial production and / or market potential. The packaging is described with attention to environmental aspects. A proposal for labeling is made.
Media file: This consists of two photos, namely the product and the team (in standard format. JPEG and in high resolution, max. 1200 * 800 pixels, high resolution 300pi) and an informative and attractive text with a maximum of 150 words. These photos with text will be included in a brochure intended for the public. It is therefore advisable to be careful with the information that is released.
Brief business plan : A concise business plan that includes the following points:
Judging
The files are assessed on content and presentation (oral and written). The organization determines the evaluation criteria. You will find the evaluation criteria on the evaluation form for jury members. The jury will consist of a maximum of 8 people. The jury members assess the files on the basis of the imposed criteria and the presentation of the students.The members of the jury are representatives of business, science, communication and education. The jury members will sign a confidentiality clause. In case of force majeure (in case a jury member is absent for a certain presentation, for example) the average score of the other jury members will be taken for the absent member. The individual score sheets that the jury members have entered are confidential. The results of the jury members are processed on the spot, are binding and are not up for discussion.
Practical arrangements
Upon arrival at the location, the team reports to the registration desk. The teams must ensure that they bring enough to allow each member of the jury to taste the product.The participants take their presentation with them on a USB stick.
The presentations may take a maximum of 25 minutes: 15 minutes for the presentation and 10 minutes for presenting the samples for the jury and answering the questions of the jury.
Other provisions
Find here the regulations of the European competition
Established in France in 2000, Ecotrophelia expanded to a European scale in 2008, Ecotrophelia Europe is organized by the European Technology Platform "Food for Life", ANIA (National Association of Food Industries) and CCI Vaucluse. FOODDRINK Europe, the structure which groups together food federations, is also involved in the organization. On the principle of a food innovation “Champions League” each European country organizes its own national competition to select the most innovative food project that will then be presented at Ecotrophelia Europe. The selections are coordinated by the national food federations. The teams are composed of 2 to 10 students from either public or private higher education European establishments, scientific or commercial.
Since 2011 Ecotrophelia Europe has motivated the organization of 90 national competitions, mobilized more than 550 universities and nearly 3,000 European students and the development of more than 350 products! Of these products more than 40 have been developed and marketed in European distribution channels.
It is in this context that a dozen national federations and the European Federation FoodDrinkEurope decided, around the Chamber of Commerce of Vaucluse, to create a European Economic Interest Grouping to now carry these initiatives: EEIG Ecotrophelia Europe.
The European Economic Interest Group aims to promote entrepreneurship and competitiveness in the European food industry through the implementation and development of innovative programs in the food industry and cooperation and exchange between SMEs with universities, research institutes, public and private agencies involved in food innovation.