Tapping into Gen Z to innovate plant-based diets
Plant-based food, which represents a more sustainable model of living, is in need of innovation to expand customer bases from vegans to more, and Gen Z is tapped for new ideas.
ProVeg, an international food awareness organization, has launched the ProVeg Food Innovation Challenge APAC 2022 to encourage and nurture university talent in the Asia-Pacific region to accelerate plant-based food innovation.
The ProVeg challenge will invite university students from all academic disciplines enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs in the region to take part in the competition, channeling their creative skills toward solving some of the biggest challenges facing the world today.
The deadline to submit ideas is October 25, with a virtual awards ceremony scheduled for mid-December. Cash prizes totaling up to US$10,000 will be awarded for the best ideas.
Asia presents the largest opportunity for plant-based diets with such a wide variety of exciting ingredients, according to Shirley Lu, managing director of ProVeg Asia.
"To tap into this enormous opportunity to truly transform our food systems, innovation is key. Asia needs more tasty, healthy and convenient plant-based products targeting not only vegans but all types of customers, and we look forward to hearing what this talented Gen Z has to offer," she said.
In response to the global transition toward plant-rich, sustainable living, ProVeg launched the very first Food Innovation Challenge in China in 2020, attracting 260 students from more than 20 universities across the Chinese mainland. Last year, the challenge targeted the Southeast Asia region and won the "best use of digital by a charity, NGO or NFP" award at the Digital Impact Awards.
The 2022 edition is branching out to the entire Asia-Pacific region and more participants are expected.
Application instructions can be found at https://food-innovation-challenge.proveg.com.
