The American Egg Board’s Eggcelerator Lab, an innovation center for the egg industry, has announced the winners of its 2025 Student Innovation Competition. This year’s challenge pushed participants to explore new and novel uses for egg yolk in food product development, moving beyond traditional applications to unlock new potential in functionality, format, and flavor.

Cornell University students Waritsara Khongkomolsakul, Sabrina Choi, and Yihong Deng took first place with Eggsential Cereal, a globally inspired, shelf-stable product featuring crispy egg yolk pieces, chocolate, chia-coated chickpeas, and freeze-dried fruit. Second place went to North Carolina State University’s Grab and Grow Custard and third place to the University of Tennessee’s Midas Bites. All winners took home cash prizes.

“Eggsential Cereal was chosen as the winner because it exemplifies how egg yolks can break out of the traditional mold of breakfast foods,” says Nelson Serrano-Bahri, director of innovation at the American Egg Board. “The team’s innovative use of egg yolk as a key ingredient, paired with chocolate, chia, and freeze-dried fruits, highlights the versatility and potential of egg yolks in a dry format adaptable for snacking. Moreover, their approach pushes the boundaries of product development by combining global flavors with a clean label, creating a cereal that’s both novel and ready for commercialization.”

Competition overview
Designed to inspire and cultivate creativity among undergraduate and graduate students, the Eggcelerator Lab Student Innovation Competition invites teams to develop market-ready food concepts leveraging the functional power of eggs as ingredients. This year, the spotlight was on egg yolks, challenging students to innovate in ways that demonstrate their versatility beyond the kitchen staples like mayo.

From a broad field of entries, seven finalist teams were selected to advance. These teams worked closely with subject matter experts, refined their concepts and participated in an intensive final round that included written proposals, oral presentations, and sensory testing.
 

The winners include:

• First Place ($8,000): Eggsential Cereal
  • Cornell University
  • Team: Waritsara Khongkomolsakul, Sabrina Choi, Yihong Deng
  • A globally inspired egg-yolk-based cereal that features crispy egg yolk pieces blended with chocolate and chia-covered chickpeas and freeze-dried strawberries and bananas.

• Second Place ($5,000): Grab and Grow Custard
  • North Carolina State University
  • Team: Catherine Merigliano, Erin Pacifico
  • A portable, high-protein cinnamon custard snack designed for grab-and-go convenience.

• Third Place ($3,000): Midas Bites
  • University of Tennessee
  • Team: Ploy Wong, Elena Cota, Luke Jackson
  • Globally inspired chocolate truffles in three flavors—Spiced Dark Chocolate, Mandarin Orange Milk Chocolate, and Lavender London Fog White Chocolate—wrapped in delicate golden egg yolk threads.

Judging panel

The competition was evaluated by an expert panel of industry leaders in culinary innovation and food product development:

• Natalie Shmulik, chief strategy and incubation officer, The Hatchery and ICNC
• Nikkita Randle, founder, Twisted Eggroll
• Jaime Mestan, director of culinary, Bell Flavors
• Nelson Serrano-Bahri, director of innovation, American Egg Board