UH Hilo Ag team wins regional food marketing competition

Students from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management (CAFNRM) captured first place in the Most Innovative Market Idea category at the 2011 Western College Food Marketing Competition held in Fresno, California.

UH Hilo’s team of Laura Rieber (general ag), Martin Ennis (agribusiness), Justin Lim (horticulture) and Colin Mosher (horticulture) topped Fresno State University, Cal Poly Pomona, Chico State, and Utah State University to win the competition, which was judged and critiqued by professional agri-marketers, professors and selected students.

The students marketed Jellybean Honey, a product for insulin-dependent patients. The honey-filled capsules, similar to jellybeans, dissolve in the patient’s mouth. The jellybeans would be marketed and distributed as a high value-added food product to hospitals, doctor’s offices and natural food outlet stores.

The project was funded through the Alaskan Native/Native Hawaiian Grant.The award’s principal investigators were Dr. Bill Sakai, Dr. Marcia Sakai and Dr. Sabry Shehata, who also supervised the grant.