Innovative products showcased to Pilgrim’s Europe

Date published: 15 December 2025

Pilgrim’s Europe is an industry leading UK and European food company with iconic brands including Richmond, Fridge Raiders, Rollover, Oakhouse, Denny, and Moy Park. The business operates across the UK, Ireland, France and the Netherlands, driving forward sustainability and innovation across their product portfolios.

Students at CAFRE’s Loughry Campus have been putting their creativity to the test as part of their Food Product Design module. With the global scale and influence of the food industry in mind, students on the second year of the BSc (Hons) Food Innovation Management degree programme were challenged to develop innovative chicken-based products.

Working in six collaborative teams, the students combined technical knowledge with business insight to create concepts that reflect current consumer trends and industry demands.

The challenge

Lucy McDonagh White, Senior Product Development Technologist at Pilgrim’s Europe, commented on the students’ design briefs. “It was great to be involved in this challenge once again and help inspire upcoming future agri-food leaders. Our aim was to challenge students to think like industry professionals, considering profitability, sustainability, attracting new customer segments, and diversifying product portfolios.

“Against this challenging task, students applied their skills to create an exciting new product taking consumer demands, nutritional benefits and current trends into consideration and we received some great responses from everyone involved.

“In today’s fast-moving and competitive market, the ability to innovate effectively is what sets successful food businesses apart. Our team was blown away by the innovative ideas and talent amongst the students - their creativity and response to the brief was truly impressive and we wish them all the best with their future careers.”

The process

The students started their concept development stage, setting to work on market research. They assessed the feasibility of their ideas, aligning them with Pilgrim’s Europe strategy. Product concepts were discussed, outlining the target audiences, unique selling propositions (USPs) and potential product benefits.

Working in CAFRE’s cutting-edge Product Development suite within the Food Innovation Centre at Loughry Campus, the student teams moved into the product formulation phase. “Students find this is the exciting stage where ideas start to take shape,” explained Louise Harkness, CAFRE Lecturer. “Students create initial prototypes, experimenting with different formulations, ingredients, and flavour profiles. The challenge is to strike the right balance between sensory appeal, nutritional value, shelf life, cost efficiency, and sustainability.”

In addition to sensory testing, students carried out a detailed feasibility analysis to assess the technical, financial, and operational viability of their new products. Key factors under review included the availability, cost, and sustainability of raw materials, ensuring that concepts were not only innovative but also practical for real-world production.

Using the specialist production facilities in the Food Technology Centre at Loughry Campus, students progressed to pilot-scale testing of their products. This stage replicates a real manufacturing environment, allowing teams to assess the practical viability of their concepts. It helps identify potential production challenges, validate formulations, and adjust formulations to optimise efficiency, consistency, and overall product quality.

The presentation

Once their innovative food products were finalised, students faced the ultimate challenge: pitching their ideas to a panel of judges in a ‘Dragons’ Den’ style presentation. They were required to justify their design decisions and demonstrate the commercial viability of their concepts, showcasing not only creativity but also strong business acumen. The panel was comprised of Pilgrim’s Europe Product Development staff Clare McAuley and Lucy McDonagh White alongside CAFRE’s Head of Education, Dr Eric Long. Each pitch was assessed on its merits with the hard task of deciding on the ultimate winning team.

The outcome

This year’s first placed product was announced as the ‘Satiety Co’. The winning team comprised of Emma Loughery from Limavady, Charli Burnside from Campsie, Aoife Darby from Belfast and Hannah Patterson from Ballygowan. Their product design brief was to develop a ready to cook product, presented in a foil tray, meeting the requirements of a small portion, with a high flavour intensity promoting Glucagon-Like-Peptide-1 (GLP-1) properties.

On commenting about the six products sampled by the judges, Clare McAuley, Innovation and Development Manager at Pilgrim’s Europe said, “We were impressed by all the products presented today. You have demonstrated not only skills in NPD interpreting the briefs to create your products, but also excellent communication and teamworking ability. These are impressive competences to have developed so early in your studies, I congratulate you all.”

Dr Eric Long added his praise of the students and extended his and the college’s sincere thanks to Pilgrim’s Europe for their ongoing support and encouragement given to students studying at CAFRE. He added “The new product development challenge gives CAFRE food students the opportunity to demonstrate to Pilgrim’s Europe their ability to showcase products and experience how processes operate in the commercial world.”

If you are interested in developing innovative food products that meet the needs of the future food industry, apply now through UCAS to study at CAFRE. Applications are open for BSc Honours Degree and Foundation Degree courses validated by Ulster University. For more information on courses visit the CAFRE website.