Oregon State University students are diving into the world of frozen treats with a groundbreaking clean-label ice cream innovation contest sponsored by Ever Fresh Fruit Company. Launched on February 19, 2025, at the OSU Creamery in Corvallis, Oregon, this competition challenges participants to create market-ready ice cream concepts using only high-quality, clean-label ingredients. The contest, organized by the OSU Food Science and Fermentation Club and the College of Agricultural Sciences, gives students access to professional-grade facilities and premium ingredients from sponsors including Ever Fresh Fruit Company, Lochmead Dairy, Flavor Producers, and The Ice Cream Factory. “I am excited to see the participants go to the edges of the map on ice cream innovation,” said Scott Geringer, CEO at Ever Fresh, highlighting the creative potential of this unique challenge.
Scooping Up Innovation: Inside the OSU Ice Cream Challenge
This isn’t just any dessert contest – it’s a comprehensive food development experience that mirrors real-world product creation. Students must register their teams by March 3, 2025, with final submissions due by May 23, 2025. The competition structure includes a mid-contest progress check-in scheduled for April 7-11, giving participants valuable feedback before finalizing their creations.
What makes this competition particularly exciting is the focus on clean-label ingredients – products made without artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. This aligns with current dessert industry trends that emphasize transparency and natural components. For participants, this adds an extra layer of challenge to develop products that are both innovative and meet increasingly strict consumer demands for clean eating.
The competition takes place at the OSU Creamery, a state-of-the-art facility that provides students with professional-grade equipment. This hands-on approach gives participants real-world experience in food product development that they simply couldn’t get in a classroom setting. The competition mirrors industry practices, from concept development to ingredient sourcing and final production.
Sweet Rewards: Prizes and Recognition
The stakes are high for participating students, with significant rewards awaiting the most innovative teams. The competition culminates with a final judging event on May 30, 2025, at Withycombe Hall, where a panel of industry experts will evaluate each creation. The top prize is $1,500, but perhaps even more valuable is the industry recognition.
What sets this contest apart is the judging panel, which features the Ever Fresh Innovation Team alongside Tyler Malek, Co-Founder and Head of Innovation at Salt & Straw – a premium ice cream brand known for its creative flavors. Having industry leaders evaluate student work provides invaluable feedback and potential career connections.
The winning flavor will be produced and sold at the OSU Creamery, giving students the rare opportunity to see their creation move from concept to commercial product. This real-world product launch experience is something few undergraduate students can claim on their resumes. The winning flavor might even become the next sensation, similar to how Taylor Swift’s favorite desserts have influenced food trends.
“We are always looking for ways to connect OSU’s Food Science and Technology students with real-world industry opportunities,” said Lisbeth Goddik, Department Head at OSU. This competition serves as a bridge between academic learning and practical application, preparing students for future careers in food innovation.
Ever Fresh: Cultivating the Next Generation of Food Innovators
Ever Fresh Fruit Company isn’t just sponsoring this competition – they’re actively shaping the future of food innovation. As a company specializing in custom-formulated solutions, Ever Fresh brings valuable industry perspective to the contest. Their involvement gives students access to premium quality ingredients that might otherwise be unavailable for educational projects.
The company’s commitment to sustainability and reliability aligns perfectly with the clean-label focus of the competition. By providing these ingredients, Ever Fresh is helping students understand how to work with high-quality components while still creating commercially viable products. This balance between quality and practicality is a critical skill in the food industry.
Scott Geringer’s challenge to students – “to balance creativity while formulating a commercially viable product” – captures the essence of real-world food development. It’s not enough to create something delicious; it must also be practical to produce at scale. This mirrors the kind of fusion thinking that creates innovative food combinations, like churro eclairs that blend culinary traditions.
For more information about Ever Fresh Fruit Company and their commitment to innovation, you can visit www.everfreshfruit.com. Their participation highlights how industry partners can play crucial roles in educational experiences that prepare the next generation of food scientists and developers.
OSU’s Food Science Program: Creating Tomorrow’s Food Innovators
Oregon State University’s Food Science and Technology program has built a reputation for excellence through practical learning opportunities like this competition. Located in Corvallis, Oregon, with additional resources at the Food Innovation Center in Portland, the program combines academic rigor with hands-on training. This approach has made OSU a leader in food science education.
The program’s facilities, including the OSU Creamery where the competition takes place, provide students with access to professional-grade equipment. These resources allow students to experiment with concepts that might eventually become commercial products, just like how retro dessert comebacks often get modern makeovers before hitting the market again.
Industry partnerships, like the one with Ever Fresh Fruit Company, enhance the educational experience by bringing real-world challenges into the academic environment. These collaborations also create networking opportunities that can lead to internships, mentorships, and eventually job placements. The competition exemplifies OSU’s commitment to preparing students for careers rather than just courses.
The involvement of notable industry figures like Tyler Malek from Salt & Straw demonstrates the program’s industry connections. These relationships benefit both students, who gain exposure to industry leaders, and companies, who get early access to upcoming talent. It’s a symbiotic relationship that strengthens the entire food innovation ecosystem.
Clean-Label Revolution: Students Leading the Way
The focus on clean-label ingredients reflects a significant shift in consumer preferences toward more transparent and natural food products. Today’s consumers are increasingly concerned about what goes into their food, making clean-label formulation a valuable skill for future food scientists. By centering the competition around this concept, OSU is preparing students for the actual challenges they’ll face in industry.
Creating clean-label ice cream presents unique technical challenges that push students to innovate. Without artificial stabilizers, emulsifiers, and flavor enhancers, students must find natural alternatives that provide the same functionality. This requirement forces participants to develop deeper understanding of ingredient interactions and food chemistry.
The clean-label approach also connects with broader sustainability concerns in the food industry. Many consumers who seek clean-label products are also interested in environmental impact, similar to fans who might follow Shohei Ohtani’s favorite dessert choices while also caring about the environmental practices of the companies that make them. Students must consider these interconnected values in their product development.
For participants, the competition offers a chance to showcase creativity while addressing real market demands. The winning concepts might incorporate unexpected flavor combinations, innovative processing techniques, or novel ingredient applications – all while maintaining clean-label status. This balance of innovation and practical constraints mirrors the reality of commercial product development.
From Classroom to Freezer Aisle: Real-World Impact
What differentiates this competition is the potential for real-world impact through commercial production of the winning flavor. Few student competitions offer the opportunity to see your creation actually reach consumers. This aspect of the contest provides invaluable practical experience in scaling recipes for commercial production.
The winning flavor’s journey from concept to commercial product will involve additional considerations beyond the initial formula. Students will need to address packaging, shelf-life, cost analysis, and marketing – all crucial aspects of bringing a food product to market. This comprehensive product development experience is rare in undergraduate education.
For Ever Fresh Fruit Company, the competition represents an investment in future innovation. By engaging with students early in their careers, the company helps shape their understanding of industry needs while also identifying potential talent. This forward-thinking approach benefits both the students and the company.
As consumers continue to demand more innovative yet clean-label products, competitions like this one at OSU will play important roles in developing the next generation of food scientists and product developers. The creative problem-solving skills honed through this challenge will serve participants well regardless of where their careers take them in the food industry.
For those interested in dessert innovation or food science education, this competition showcases how academic institutions and industry partners can collaborate to create meaningful learning experiences. The OSU clean-label ice cream innovation contest stands as a model for how to bridge classroom learning with real-world application, creating benefits for students, sponsoring companies, and ultimately consumers who will enjoy these innovative new ice cream flavors.