UGM students have made another international achievement. This time, four UGM students who joined the Nescrave Indonesia team won first place. The competition was organized by NUS Food Science and Technology Society and NUS Enterprise, National University of Singapore, from May 9 to July 7, 2022.
The Nescrave team consists of four UGM students, namely Alma Mahira Lazuardani (FMIPA UGM), Anette Geraldine (FEB UGM), Deborah Patricia Lizar (FTP UGM), and Rojwa Legiana Rachmiadi (FEB UGM) and one student from Justus Liebig University, Giessen, namely Ersintya Swasthi Pramadhani (Food Chemistry Justus Liebig University). They won after eliminating other strong teams from various countries in the world.
Ersintya explained that she proposed the idea of developing Nescrave (RTE Meal) with Nessential (recycled application) which focuses on producing a new Nestle product for healthy breakfast. The target audience for this product is people who are involved in the hustle culture.
“We want to raise awareness about the importance of breakfast and recycling. Therefore, to increase the productivity of Southeast Asian workers and develop an integrated application that arouses their interest in recycling, we want to develop nutritious ready-to-eat meals (RTE products),” Ersintya said on Friday (22/7).
Ersintya explained that for people who often skip breakfast, it is important to have a breakfast with better sources of carbohydrates and protein. The use of taro enriched with butterfly flower extract as a nutritious carbohydrate alternative, and the use of Asian dishes such as gyudon, bibimbap, and rendang as toppings, the team created a healthier yet still delicious alternative to food even when individuals have limited time.
The team wanted to attract new interest in product recycling, along with the Nessential App, a mobile app integrated with recyclable products. Customers can collect Nespoints by recycling Nescrave products and playing games.
“We hope this achievement will not only make Indonesia and UGM proud internationally but also motivate cooperation between Indonesian students around the world,” he said.
The NUS FoodTech Challenge is an annual competition event where students from various universities come together to exchange ideas and develop innovative food technology ideas to address issues facing the food industry today. This year, NUS FTC 2022 collaborated with IFF, Nestlé, and Perkin Elmer to tackle a challenge that focused on developing new food concepts that offer valuable benefits such as health and luxury to delight Asian consumers. The competition series consisted of a pre-competition (online workshop), a preliminary round, industry expert mentorship, and a final round where all finalists presented their ideas to the judges.