Pizza entry wins dairy checkoff’s new product competition

MILWAUKEE — A team of food science students from Utah State University won first place in Dairy Management Inc.’s New Product Competition with a high-protein personal pizza featuring a crust made with approximately 85% dairy ingredients.

Judges from across the dairy industry selected Utah State for best meeting this year’s contest challenge: developing an innovative dairy-based product that supports bone health, muscle health and weight management.

The award was announced during the American Dairy Science Association’s annual meeting in Milwaukee.

The team’s winning product, Athena’s Slice, reimagines personal pizza with a crust made from cottage cheese, mozzarella, Parmesan and nonfat dry milk.

Topped with tzatziki-style sauce, gyro meat, feta cheese, mozzarella, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, onions and green bell peppers, the pizza delivers 30 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber per serving.

The students said Athena’s Slice was designed to meet growing consumer demand for protein-rich foods while demonstrating dairy’s versatility in unique applications.

Team members Taelie Kennedy, Angalee Brinkerhoff and Erynn Chidester received DMI’s Platinum Dairy Innovator Award and a $10,000 prize.

“Someone suggested a cottage cheese pizza crust and I wanted to do something Greek-themed,” Kennedy said. “We also looked at consumer insights and protein has been one of the biggest trends for years, so that was important to us. Those concepts came together and that’s really how Athena’s Slice was born.”

Chidester added: “People are surprised when they see how much protein is in the crust. It helped show them a different side of dairy and expanded their understanding of what dairy ingredients can do.”

Brinkerhoff said the competition provided valuable real-world product development experience that will help them prepare for careers in the food industry.

“This competition is one of the closest experiences you can get in college to what you’ll actually do in the food industry,” she said. “It challenged us to solve problems, work as a team and think about every aspect of bringing a product to market. I grew tremendously, both as a person and as a food scientist.”

DMI has hosted the New Product Competition since 2012 to foster innovation and provide emerging food scientists with hands-on product development experience.

“What stands out every year is how these students can take emerging consumer trends and translate them into products that are both innovative and commercially relevant,” said Rohit Kapoor, a DMI vice president and member of the product research team who oversees the competition.

“Their work highlights dairy’s remarkable versatility and provides a glimpse into where food innovation may be headed.”

Other winners included:

• Gold Dairy Innovator Award — $7,000: Cornell University for 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 for 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: Cornell University for cottage cheese reimagined as a light, airy mousse; University of Wisconsin-Madison for a high-protein, frozen mousse-style dessert; and University of Wisconsin-River Falls for a freeze-dried snack featuring a cottage cheese base combined with fruits, vegetables and/or chocolate.

Marilyn Hershey, chair of DMI and a Pennsylvania dairy farmer, said the competition reflects the value of investing in future food scientists and opportunities for dairy growth.

“These students bring curiosity, determination and fresh thinking to every stage of product development,” she said. “As dairy farmers, we’re proud to support programs that help develop future industry leaders while discovering new ways to connect dairy’s nutrition and functionality with what consumers are looking for today.”