RCA Competition

With the support of Edwardo Cortez, Choco Chai, Chelsea Le, Gerry Pedro, Viral Shukla, and Dr. Davidov-Pardo the development of a new sustainable instant noodle was created. I really enjoyed collaborating with my fellow students who all share a similar interest in innovation. During this project, I learned how to analyze the food industry market by paying attention to food trends and how to formulate a new food product through trial and error.

Evolution of Food Waste

Each year, the Research Chef’s Association offers a competition. This year’s prompt (2018 – 2019) was to innovate a product that could utilize ingredients that are heavily regarded as waste. With that said, we decided that our main ingredients will be brewer’s spent grain (BSG) and lobster flavoring. These ingredients were chosen for their abundance of waste contribution.

Brewer’s spent grain is what is left after the production of beer, most of this leftover grain is usually thrown out after each batch of alcohol is brewed. This creates a problem in the brewing industry because disposing of this waste can also be costly. Lobster shells also pile up in the landfill which contributes to a total of 6 – 8 million tons of crustacean shells. Our team came up with a solution. Instant Lobster BSG noodles.

Let me present to you: Hayaku Noods! How does instant lobster flavored noodles sound to you? A snack you can bring anywhere! Affordable, portable, and enjoyable. A meal for everyone.

What makes Hayaku Noods different from all the other brands of instant noodles in the market? Environmental sustainability. Creating a line of products by utilizing ingredients from waste products should be encouraged amongst the food industry.