Food innovation ideas take top prizes in SRUC Student Enterprise Ideas Competition
An Edinburgh Food Security student has taken first place in SRUC’s Student Enterprise Ideas Competition, impressing judges with a highly efficient and sustainable food coating device designed to reduce waste and improve food preservation.
The contest, which is organised by SRUC’s Enterprise Academy, asks students to come up with innovative sustainable solutions to challenges facing the natural economy in Scotland and beyond.
Julliete Kwe Nfwankfu, who is studying an MSc in Food Security, was awarded the top prize of £1,500 for her innovative concept.
Julliete was born and raised in Nkambe, located in the Northwest region of Cameroon. During her time as a student at the University of Bamenda, she sold peanut burger snacks as a source of income. However, the demand from customers often caused her stress, and the manual process, which was time-consuming, frequently left her with back pain. This inspired her to find a solution.
Reflecting on her win, Julliete said the journey to entering the competition was not without self-doubt.
She said: “Submitting my application for the SRUC Student Enterprise Ideas Competition was a leap of faith. Doubt held me back until the very last moment, but being selected for the pitching phase gave me the confidence to push forward. Winning first place has been an incredible validation of my idea, resilience, and proof that no idea is ever invalid.”
Joint second prize of £750 was awarded to two students whose ideas demonstrated strong potential for impact across food systems and rural enterprise. Concy Auma, an MSc Food Security student, was recognised for her novel food-based solution that transforms African indigenous orphan crops to improve nutrition, strengthen food security and support community-driven climate resilience.
Karen Harris, who is studying HND Horticulture at the SRUC Edinburgh campus, also secured joint second place with her proposal for a unique new orchard business in Scotland.
A further five students received Highly Commended awards of £100 in recognition of the quality and ambition of their ideas. These went to Keira Young (BSc Applied Animal Science), Michael Odoh (MSc Food Security), Molly Cave (HND Horticulture), Samantha Mein (BSc Wildlife and Conservation Management), all based in Edinburgh, as well as Richard Baker (BA Rural Business Management) from SRUC’s Craibstone campus.
Matthew Gardiner, SRUC Sustainable Enterprise Manger said: "An exceptional standard of student ideas was evident throughout this year’s competition, reflecting the continued impact of our SEEDABLE curriculum, which embeds enterprise across all SRUC programmes. The Enterprise Academy looks forward to supporting these ambitious changemakers as they progress to the next stage."
Terry Butcher, Agricultural Relationship Manager at Oxbury Bank Plc and one of the competition judges, said: “This year’s competition saw an extremely high calibre of applications covering a wide range of ideas, many of which have at their heart a philanthropic focus. It’s been truly inspiring to see the passion and dedication from the applicants who I am sure will be future entrepreneurs.”
Fellow judge Jill Millar, Business Coach at South of Scotland Enterprise, added:
“What a privilege to be a judge for this event. The participants were all incredible and the entrepreneurial talent is exceptional. Massive well done to everyone.”
The judging panel was completed by Tommy Dale, Managing Director of Forth Resource Management.
Funding for the prizes was provided by Anderson Strathern and Forth Resource Management, with further support for running the competition provided through Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Funding from the Scottish Funding Council.
Audrey Cameron, Partner and Public Sector Law specialist at award sponsor Anderson Strathern, said: “It has been fantastic to see such innovation from the students. Development of ideas and technologies which improve our green credentials is one of the most crucial acts we can take in our efforts to stall climate change - any food waste reduction can only be seen as positive. We are proud to be able to facilitate this by acting as a sponsor to the SRUC Student Enterprise Ideas Competition”.
The Student Enterprise Ideas Competition forms part of the SRUC’s wider ambition to nurture entrepreneurial thinking and support students in developing ideas that create value for the economy, environment and society within the rural and natural economy.
For further information visit our Enterprise Academy for the Rural & Natural Economy page.
Posted by SRUC on 23/03/2026
