Students create new food products

A fresh look at coated food was on the menu recently for students on the College's BSc (Hons) Food and Consumer Management programme.

As part of an ongoing partnership with Witwood Food Products, second year students were taught coating principles and techniques by Witwood in preparation for a new product development brief, where they were tasked with creating a new coated product for Tesco's Finest range.

Students spent several months researching the market and existing products before starting to develop their own proposals. Witwood representatives visited the college on several occasions to guide the students in their work, and the finished products were presented to members of the firm's sales, marketing and New Product Development teams.

Witwood Account manager and former student, Tracey Moulder, said: "We were incredibly impressed with the quality and range of the concepts presented. Each one demonstrated a real understanding of the market, and the students' ability to explain, justify and comment on the strengths and potential weaknesses of their ideas was excellent.

"It illustrates the breadth of talent and enthusiasm that's out there, and anything the food industry can do to help nurture this talent and prepare people who have a passion for a career in the industry should be encouraged."

Programmes co-ordinator at the College, Jennie Howe, added: "This exercise has been excellent. It was very realistic, using a brief set by industry, real products, and with realistic feedback on individual student success and areas for improvement.

"We greatly appreciate the time that Witwood have devoted to working with us on this project, both in visiting the college on several occasions during the development stages and in speaking to individual students about the outcome of their project.

"Many of the students on this course hope to work in new product development roles after graduating and this collaboration has helped to prepare them for the sort of situations they will encounter in the industry, both in developing products and convincing manufacturers to take them forward."

Four former UCB students currently work at Banbury-based Witwood in marketing, sales and product development roles.