November 2020

Students support Whitworth's development of vegan Protein By Nature range

By Darren Campbell

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University College Birmingham students have put their food training into action by supporting a top industry firm in the development of a new range of vegan products.

Students at the College of Food recently worked with dried fruit and snack production company Whitworths, supporting initial concept testing of their new Protein By Nature range.

The 'ready to eat' products, containing a mix of beans, pulses and grains, were officially launched by the Northamptonshire-based firm this week and are due to hit supermarket shelves over the course of November.

"It is really exciting to work with industry on internal and external products to give students the opportunity to experience the development process first hand"

Mark Ewins Food lecturer

The collaboration is the latest example of University College Birmingham's close connections with the food industry, offering students a wealth of opportunities to get hands-on experience working with leading industry partners during their studies.

The University provides a wide range of courses and training for individuals looking to enter fields such as food product development, including a brand new Food Science and Culinary Innovation BSc (Hons) / FdSc course.

Speaking about the collaboration with Whitworths, course lecturer Mark Ewins said: "It is really exciting to work with industry on internal and external products to give students the opportunity to experience the development process first hand.

"University College Birmingham has worked with Whitworths on other development briefs, giving students a real-life development experience. This is something that as a University we are passionate about, and will continue in our new Food Science and Culinary Innovation programme."

To support practical training and experience, the University also has a wide variety of state-of-the-art, industry-standard facilities where students can put their skills into practice, including our purpose-built Food Science and Innovation Suite at Summer Row.

Find out more about University College Birmingham's range of specialist courses for the food and hospitality industry here.

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