{"id":859,"date":"2026-07-08T09:36:41","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T08:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/?p=859"},"modified":"2026-07-08T09:36:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T08:36:41","slug":"leftover-hazelnut-pulp-becomes-prize-winning-chocolate-treat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/leftover-hazelnut-pulp-becomes-prize-winning-chocolate-treat\/","title":{"rendered":"Leftover hazelnut pulp becomes prize winning chocolate treat"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hazelnut pulp usually thrown away during food production has been turned into a chocolate macaron by University of Reading students, who have won the UK’s top student food innovation prize.<\/span><\/p>\n

Team\u00a0IndulgeCo\u00a0took the Gold Award at\u00a0Ecotrophelia\u00a0UK 2026 for\u00a0Fav\u00e9, a sweet treat built around the leftover pulp, beating six other university teams from across the country. The win means the team will now\u00a0represent\u00a0the UK at the\u00a0Ecotrophelia\u00a0Europe final, held this year in\u00a0<\/span>Sial,\u00a0<\/span>Paris in October.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hazelnut pulp is a by-product left behind during nut processing and is typically discarded as waste. The Reading team found a way to incorporate it into a macaron shell, pairing it with a mousse made from UK-grown fava beans. Each\u00a0<\/span>55g\u00a0<\/span>macaron\u00a0contains\u00a0around\u00a0<\/span>10<\/span>g of fibre, far exceeding standard products in the category, while the<\/span>\u00a0paper sleeve packaging was made partly from hazelnut shells\/skins. The recycled PET tray made using 70% recycled content.<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Fav\u00e9\u00a0team, made up of Benjamin Leroy, Kam Bautista, Xintong Qiao and Charlie Reavell, developed the product from\u00a0initial\u00a0concept through to final packaged prototype\u00a0<\/span>over the course of the competition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Benjamin Leroy,\u00a0<\/span>a Univers<\/span>ity of Reading\u00a0<\/span>Food Science student who co-created\u00a0Fav\u00e9,\u00a0<\/span>said: “Hazelnut pulp gets thrown away in huge quantities during processing, so we wanted to find a way to use it rather than waste it. Getting the taste and texture right took a lot of trial and error, but we wanted to prove that a sustainable ingredient\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0mean giving anything up. Winning gold has been an amazing moment for the team, and we\u00a0can’t\u00a0wait to take\u00a0Fav\u00e9\u00a0to the European final. We’re really proud of what we’ve<\/span>\u00a0achieved<\/span>, and proud to be representing Reading.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Celebrating teaching e<\/span>xcellence\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n

Ecotrophelia\u00a0is a Europe-wide competition run in the UK by the Institute of Food Science and Technology (IFST) and Campden BRI. It challenges student teams to design new eco-innovative food products, covering everything from food safety and nutrition to marketing,\u00a0packaging\u00a0and business planning.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The final took place at\u00a0Gastronomica,\u00a0Colworth\u00a0Science Park, where seven finalist teams pitched their eco-innovative food concepts to judges from major food and drink companies including Nestl\u00e9, Unilever, Tesco,\u00a0PepsiCo\u00a0and Coca-Cola. Judges described\u00a0Fav\u00e9\u00a0as giving consumers “a clear justification for indulgence through added fibre and sustainable ingredients, allowing them to enjoy a premium dessert while still feeling that it is a more balanced choice.”<\/span><\/p>\n

R<\/span>eading also fielded a second finalist team, Luna\u00a0SFere, whose iron-fortified chocolate bites were developed for teenage girls to help address common iron shortfalls during puberty.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>The t<\/span>eams competed in\u00a0Ecotrophe<\/span>lia\u00a0after\u00a0<\/span>developing\u00a0<\/span>their ideas in th<\/span>e New Product Development module<\/span>\u00a0of their\u00a0<\/span>undergraduate\u00a0<\/span>Food Science\u00a0<\/span>degrees<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>The module i<\/span>s\u00a0<\/span>available t<\/span>o all students<\/span>\u00a0studying Food Science courses at the U<\/span>niversity of Reading. \"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Dr\u00a0<\/span>Maria\u00a0<\/span>(Jose)\u00a0<\/span>Oruna-Concha, academic lead for\u00a0<\/span>th<\/span>e New Pro<\/span>duct Development Module and\u00a0<\/span>Ecotrophelia, said: “This result reflects the calibre of food science teaching and research happening here at Reading. Having two teams reach the national final, with one going on to win gold, shows what our students are capable of when\u00a0they’re\u00a0given real industry challenges to solve alongside first class teaching. Food innovation is a genuine strength for the University, and\u00a0it’s\u00a0directly linked\u00a0to our Agrifood Futures work, which brings together research and teaching to tackle\u00a0real challenges\u00a0in sustainable food production. It’s brilliant to see that translate into recognition at this level.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Chris Wells<\/span>, Visiting Professor at the Unive<\/span>rsity of Reading\u2019s Department of Food and Nutri<\/span>tional Sciences, said: \u201c<\/span>Getting two teams to the final and scooping Gold at\u00a0Ecotrophelia\u00a0is a real achievement for the University of Reading.\u00a0<\/span>Being recognised\u00a0<\/span>at a national competition judged by top food industry experts\u00a0<\/span>shows that the University\u2019s teaching leads to real world skill development in product innovation, food safety\u00a0management\u00a0and environmental sensitivity<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Inset image: Benjamin Leroy, Kam Bautista, Xintong Qiao and Charlie Reavell<\/em><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hazelnut pulp usually thrown away during food production has been turned into a chocolate macaron by University of Reading students, who have won the UK’s top student food innovation prize….Read More ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1187,"featured_media":861,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"__cvm_playback_settings":[],"__cvm_video_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"coauthors":[18],"class_list":["post-859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLeftover hazelnut pulp becomes prize winning chocolate treat - Agrifood Futures<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/research.reading.ac.uk\/agrifood-futures\/leftover-hazelnut-pulp-becomes-prize-winning-chocolate-treat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Leftover hazelnut pulp becomes prize winning chocolate treat - 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