MICA project wins Food At Work Electrophelia Awards
On April 24, 2024, Guillaume Thébault and Brieuc Migeon, Master 2 students in Management de l'Innovation et de la Conception des Aliments at Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (ULiège), received the innovation prize at the Food At Work Electrophelia Awards, the annual competition organized by Fevia. The prize was awarded in recognition of their project Full'iz, developed as part of their Master's degree as an alternative to a traditional breakfast.
Full'iz is a "nomadic" fruit-based drink designed to provide 20 to 25% of the recommended daily allowance. The drink is presented as an alternative to a traditional breakfast, and proposes the idea of eating healthier without the constraints of preparation and wasted time. It is made from fresh fruit, and limits the use of ultra-processed ingredients. With a view to sustainability, Full'iz contains oats (a cereal widely grown in our regions) and the packaging is made from 100% recycled PET plastic.
Brieuc Migeon explains how the idea came about in the minds of the two students: "The idea was born over a year ago when Guillaume and I realized that we shared a common problem: a lack of time and an interest in nutrition. While discussing my problem with Guillaume, he told me about his breakfast shakers that he used to prepare in the morning to save time. We then looked to see if there were similar products on the market, and to our surprise, there were! However, none of them met our expectations in terms of both sensory and nutritional value."
"As part of our final year Master's project, we undertook the development of an innovative food. We seized this opportunity to create our balanced breakfast alternative in beverage form. Our differentiated approach lies in the fact that we designed this product with real-world distribution in mind, rather than conceiving it solely in an academic context. Indeed, our initial objective was to meet a personal need, but we quickly realized that this need was shared by many people in society.
We developed our product, Full'iz, at the Smart Gastronomy Lab (SGL), with the support of Ms Dorothée Goffin, Mr Mohamed Ayadi and Mr Éric Haubruge. The SGL provided us with invaluable help on several levels. Firstly, we benefited from a professional infrastructure that enabled us to develop our formulation under optimal conditions. Secondly, we were able to draw on the SGL's network of contacts to find various suppliers and subcontractors. Finally, as project leaders, we took part in various workshops organized by the Smart Gastronomy Lab to refine our market study (focus groups, etc.)."
The rest of Full'iz's adventures can be discovered on their LinkedIn page and on Instagram.
ABOUT THE MASTER MICAThe Master's degree in Food Innovation and Design Management is a unique master's degree, focused entirely on food, which trains professionals capable of innovating and designing tomorrow's products!
The Master's program is organized as a co-degree between:
- the University of Liège: Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, Faculties of Veterinary Medicine, Medicine and Applied Sciences
- the Haute-Ecole Charlemange: Technical and Agronomic categories.
The program comprises:
- a basic foundation: production and raw materials processing, legislation, logistics, marketing, etc.;- five specialized modules: Safety, Health, Satisfaction, Service, Society;
- a cross-disciplinary project;
- a final group project, involving industrial sponsorship.
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