The purpose of ASB’s Product Development Competition is to facilitate the development of innovative bakery products for the wholesale manufacturing industry.
Entries are due each November. Visit the following tabs for complete details.
The purpose of ASB’s Product Development Competition is to facilitate the development of innovative bakery products for the wholesale manufacturing industry.
Entries are due each November. Visit the following tabs for complete details.
Entries must consist of a proposal for a new bakery food product. For the 2024 competition, the category is “Baking Something Old New Again” to tie in with the 100-year anniversary of ASB this year. We are looking for a reinvention of a “traditional” bakery item that was popular around 100 years ago so get creative and put your own innovative spin on the product of your choice. The twist on this year’s products is that to bring them into the 21st century, they should be reduced sodium as per the FDA’s sodium reduction guidelines released in March of 2023. Entries must consist of a proposal for a new, innovative, and reduced sodium bakery food product.
The product should have the following:
Guidance for Industry on Voluntary Sodium Reduction Goals: Explanation of Appendix Table 1 (fda.gov)
The product must have a minimum shelf life of 14 days with storage conditions following similar products on the market (e.x. cookies, hard pretzels, hotdog buns are shelf stable at room temperature, but soft pretzels are sold frozen). All serving sizes, claims and labeling must be in line with the current FDA regulations.
Judges will be evaluating the potential success of product entries in today’s market, scalability and technical problem-solving skills used in product development.
In order to control the emphasis and fairness of the product development competition, the following limitations will be enforced:
Each student team member must be registered as a full-time student at the university he or she is representing at the time of the competition and through the Finals on February 29, 2024. Each student on the team must provide a letter from their advisor stating that they are currently enrolled and taking classes.
All students entering the competition must be a registered ASB member (student membership is $25). Student registration can be completed on the ASB website (www.asbe.org). For more information regarding membership, please contact membership@asbe.org.
Entries must be the student’s original work. Professors may be consulted and referenced but may not be a major contributor to the actual work.
Projects from product development classes are eligible in the competition.
MS, Ph.D., or summer internship related projects are NOT eligible in the competition.
Only email submissions will be accepted. Please submit all emails to ASB Director of Education Sarah Day (sday@asbe.org). When submitting the preliminary proposal, entrants must include the following information in the same email:
Failure to forward the above information will result in ineligibility. An acknowledgement email will be sent.
Teams must submit their preliminary proposal in a PDF format by email to Sarah Day (sday@asbe.org) by November 13th at 11:59pm CST. Proposals received after November 13th will not be accepted.
Do not include the name of the university or the team names on the title page. Names of sponsor companies, any university, students, or other indication of team location are NOT acceptable on the other five pages in the report, or on the product picture as these will be seen by the judges. VIOLATION WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION OF SUBMITTED PROPOSALS.
Additional images throughout the report are optional. Images will count in the total page count.
Scoring will be determined by the Product Development Committee. Each entry will be scored on a basis of 100 points, with the points to be distributed as shown here:
Product Description 10 points
Process Description including scale up 15 points
Technical Problem Solving 20 points
Food Safety/Shelf Life 15 points
Originality 20 points
Literature/trend data 10 points
Marketing 10 points
100 points total
The Product Development Competition Committee will select a maximum of three (3) finalists.
All competing teams will be informed of only their respective scores and any Product Development Committee’s comments.
Finalists will be announced on December 4th. Responsibilities of finalists include the preparation of the following, with details below:
Final proposals will be scored on a basis of 300 points, distributed as follows:
Final Written Proposal 50 points
Video Presentation 50 points
Live Presentation (Baker’s Oven) 75 points
Poster Display 25 points
Product Sample 100 points
The maximum number of pages for the final written proposal is ten (10). This number DOES include proposal body text, process flow diagram, references and appendices. It does NOT include the one (1) title page and the one (1) photograph page.
The report must be typed, double-spaced, 12-point Garamond font with 1” margins on white paper. Must be submitted electronically.
The title page, for which there is no specific required format, must include the title of the proposal and date. A list of donors, and other contributors that assisted the team should be listed ONLY on the title page.
Include a 5″ × 7″ color photograph of the product mounted on a single sheet 8.5” × 11.0″ white paper. Additional images throughout the report are optional.
References should be added at the end of the proposal. The teams’ anonymity is no longer required.
Product Description 10 points
Originality 15 points
Process Description 10 points
Safety/Shelf Life 5 points
Profitability 5 points
Marketing 5 points
Final Written Proposal Evaluation: 50 points total
Areas that may be covered in the final proposal are listed below. These are only suggestions. You may include other areas. Remember, thoroughness is important, but originality is highly encouraged! Be sure to cover all areas according to the allotted written proposal points above.
Product description/use
Product formulation and ingredient functionality
Market potential
Competitive framework
Sensory/ Consumer tests
Shelf-life estimation
Price/cost evaluation
Package selection and basis for selection
Nutrition Label
Process description and basis for selection
How product would be scaled for industrial production
Process flow diagram
Process limits
Operating cost
Capital investment estimate
Patent status (apply, infringe, license)
Food Safety evaluation with respect to formulations, functionality, and processing
Legal implications of the product (ingredient labeling)
Hazard Analysis – Critical Control Points (HACCP)
Good Manufacturing Processes (GMPs)
Home use – safety hazard?
State Regulations
Federal Regulations
FDA, USDA, OSHA, EPA, etc. regulations
Finalists will develop a ten (10) minute video presentation that will be part of the BakingTECH 2024 conference and posted on the ASB website.
Obviously this is not enough time to go over everything included in the written summary, so use the video presentation as a way to succinctly sell your product’s key attributes. It will be judged on quality, organization, communication, interest generated, and overall presentation skills.
Video Presentation Evaluation: 50 points
Oral Presentation Evaluation: 75 points
Finalists will also present their product development ideas in a poster session during the MarketPlace exhibits at the Annual Meeting. The content rules for the written report also apply for the poster display.
An 8 ft. wide by 4ft. high (32 sq. ft. display area) poster board will be available for you to display your product information. The panels can be divided up however a team chooses as long as it fits the allotted poster space (4′ high × 8′ wide).
Judges will visit booths in a random order determined by the competition Chair. Judges may ask questions to any or all of the team members present during this time period.
Note: Product development teams are not allowed to provide food samples to the general public at the poster session, or at any time during the Annual Meeting. Teams are encouraged to have display samples for viewing. A table-top is provided for display purposes only.
The poster display will be graded on effectiveness of product presentation, neatness and organization. The poster presentation evaluations will be based on the quality of content, organization and ability to communicate, stimulate interest, and sell the product idea to your fellow bakers.
Poster Display Evaluation: 25 points
Each team will send each judge (3 judges total) one sample of their product shipped by January 29, 2024. The names and addresses of the judges will be provided mid-December. Feedback on the samples will be included as part of the final rubric.
Product Sample Evaluation: 100 Points
Each team will have a live Q&A session with the judges in January. The exact time will be communicate in mid-December. Each member of the team is required to participate. Each team will be allocated 15 minutes.
BakingTECH 2024 is February 27 -29 at the Hilton Chicago. All expenses will be paid for the Finalists.
Items to be completed for entry in PD competition:
Items to be completed for PD competition Finalist:
Failure to comply with any of the rules of the competition may result in penalization of teams, including disqualification at the discretion of the judges and the competition Chair.
Awards – $20,000 in total
1st prize: $2,500 scholarship for each team member
2nd prize: $1,500 scholarship for each team member
3rd prize: $1,000 scholarship for each team member
Winners will be announced during the BakingTECH Closing Session on Thursday, February 29, 2024. All Finalist team members must be present.
Questions can be sent to ASB Director of Education Sarah Day (sday@asbe.org).
They will then be forwarded to the Product Development Committee for a response.