Future of Foods students develop novel products

One of the key elements of the Future of Food class is a food innovation project in which the students develop a novel, food related business.  During this semester-long experience, each student will meet with industry experts to learn necessary skills such as market analysis, product development, and financial modelling.  Currently, the students are continuing to develop their prototypes in our test kitchen while refining their business plans.  Three of the business concepts are:

Mochi Delights – We produce unique, indulgent desserts which feature mochi, a soft rice cake that originated in China thousands of years ago and now finds great popularity in Japan.  Our mochi is handmade daily and transformed into delicacies that include fresh produce and fair-trade chocolate.  The flagship item on our menu is a mochi-covered strawberry drizzled in dark chocolate.  We will operate a small shop in Leawood, Kansas, but will also have an online presence, shipping our products throughout the United States.

So Sweet…Or So You Thought – Our shockingly delicious products satisfy both a sweet tooth and spicy palate.  We are based out of a food truck that will serve both the lunch-time crowd and weekend festival goers.  Today’s consumers are looking for more than tried-and-true cuisine – they want a culinary adventure!  Some of the items you can obtain at our truck are the buffalo bacon pastry, chicken masala muffin, and Flamin’ Hot Cheeto donuts.

Boba Joe’s –  Our shop serves beverages that are a fusion of trendy boba (bubble) drinks with the flavor and boost of arabica bean coffee.  For the uninitiated, bobas are blueberry-sized pearls of chewy tapioca and are usually served in a tea-based beverage.  Boba teas originated in Taiwan in the 1980’s, gained immense popularity throughout Southeast Asia, and now can  be found in most major metropolitan areas in the USA.  As the name suggests, the defining feature of Boba Joe’s is that we focus on coffee drinks.  Our premier drink, the Original Joe, features coffee blended with ice cream, fresh-baked pecan pie, and (of course) boba pearls.  For the adventurous, we have the Ragin’ Boba, which is made with caffeine-supercharged Devil Mountain Coffee.