Global Food Business Program (GFBP) has received a request from the Toho Village Agriculture and Forestry Promotion Council (Asakura District, Fukuoka Prefecture) to develop products that utilize ingredients from the village, and is taking on the challenge of a practical project that brings together industry, academia, and government.
The students visited the area in September last year and conducted a "market screening" by inspecting direct sales outlets and interviewing food processors to explore the direction of development. As a result of their research, they established development concepts such as "sweets products that are scarce in existing lineups," "ease of distribution taking into consideration shelf life and shape," and "utilizing seasonal ingredients." After that, they continued to develop and evaluate recipes, and have now progressed to considering package design proposals.
On Thursday, January 15th, the students held a presentation and tasting session for council staff. They proposed a wide variety of dishes, including "seasoned rice" and "shigureni" (simmered dishes) made with wild boar and venison caught in the village, as well as "smoothies," "bagels," "baked goods," and "tea" that make the most of the flavor of yuzu. The students themselves explained the particularities behind each recipe, which they developed through trial and error by changing the combinations and proportions of ingredients.
Hironobu Takahashi of the council praised the project, saying, "We were really looking forward to today's tasting session, as the proposals were based on field research in Toho Village. Each recipe was well-crafted and so well-made that we wanted to commercialize them all. We would like to work towards commercializing them in the future."
The students will also consider promotional measures for commercialization in the future.
[Global Food Business Program]
