Dairy Checkoff New Product Competition Announces Winner

A team of food science students from Utah State University has captured first place in Dairy Management Inc.'s New Product Competition with a high-protein personal pizza featuring a crust made primarily from dairy ingredients. The winning product, called Athena's Slice, was recognized during the annual meeting of the American Dairy Science Association in Milwaukee, WI.

Designed to support bone health, muscle health, and weight management, the pizza features a crust made with cottage cheese, mozzarella, Parmesan, and nonfat dry milk. The finished product delivers 30 grams of protein per serving.

Team members received Dairy Management Inc.'s Platinum Dairy Innovator Award and a $10,000 prize.

Protein has been one of the biggest trends for years, so that was important to us," said the students. "Those concepts came together, and that's really how Athena's Slice was born."

Judges praised the product for showcasing dairy's versatility while meeting growing consumer demand for protein-rich foods.

Other winners included:

Gold Dairy Innovator Award ($7,000): Cornell University – Melt a Whey, a bite-sized dairy snack that melts in the mouth and can be prepared as a latte-style beverage. The product contains approximately 55% dairy ingredients and delivers 18 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber and 6 grams of collagen per serving.
Silver Dairy Innovator Award ($4,000): Oregon State University – Protein Pomodoro, a refrigerated pasta sauce formulated with 61% dairy ingredients that combines cottage cheese with a classic tomato base to deliver protein and calcium in a familiar meal solution.
Dairy Innovator Awards ($2,000 each): Rounding out the top six finalists are Cornell University (cottage cheese reimagined as a light, airy mousse), University of Wisconsin-Madison (high-protein, frozen mousse-style dessert) and University of Wisconsin-River Falls (freeze-dried snack featuring a cottage cheese base combined with fruits, vegetables and/or chocolate).

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-9791, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com