Taste for product development inspires student's superfood research

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Rachel McKillen, second left, with Vivienne Stern MBE, Professor Ken Sloan, and Senior Lecturer Wilatsana Posri

A taste for product development picked up while on industry placement has led a student to research UK consumers’ attitudes to a new superfood for a final year project.

Final year Harper Adams University student Rachel McKillen is looking at whether plant-based proteins derived from duckweed – also known as Wolffia – could appeal to UK palates.

Rachel, from Holywood, Co.Down, is studying BSc (Hons) Food Technology and Product Development and was inspired to take up the research project after spending a year in industry with leading global snack company Mondelez – known for brands such as Cadbury’s, Philadelphia, Oreo and more.

 As the year progressed, Rachel discovered a growing fascination with the way new food products were developed and brought to market.

She said: “I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do before I came back for my fourth year - but knew that I wanted it to be within New Product Development or sensory testing - as that’s where my interests lay on placement.

“Consumers are becoming more and more aware about sustainability and trends within protein, and plant-based diets and clean labels are becoming more prominent in the UK - so there was a chance to look at what new and fun food products can come in to try and expand this space.

“I got into a research dive into novel proteins at the beginning of term - and discovered duckweed. It really caught my eye because of its nutritional profile – it is really high in protein, fibre, and B12, - and I was interested as well in its sustainability characteristics too, as it multiplies its mass in just two days!”

She spoke with Dr Wilatsana Posri, Senior Lecturer in Food Science and Sensory Evaluation at the University, about her interest – and found it coincided with recent work Dr Posri had been doing with food businesses in Thailand.

The ThaiBrit FoodBridge project had been working with small and medium-sized businesses in both the UK and Thailand to provide advice and guidance about their products and their development – and a number of the small businesses the project was advising in Thailand were using duckweed.

Dr Posri said: “Duckweed has been used in South Asia as an easy-access protein source and in the past ten years, it has been popularised as a sustainable protein with nutrient density.

“I mentioned these benefits to Rachel – and also that the majority of duckweed varieties grow faster, and smell more neutral than the seaweeds used as similar protein sources!”

To find out if the product could break into UK markets, Rachel set out to find out what, if anything, the nation’s consumers know about duckweed.

She also wanted to discover their attitudes towards eating proteins derived from it – and to test some of these products directly in Harper Adams University’s industry-standard food facilities.

She added: “The study considers duckweed’s sensorial quality, sustainability, and nutritional values - as well as its novelty, because it’s something that consumers are not familiar with!

“It will help to inform UK policymakers who need to make a decision to approve the product for the UK market - and to inform those food companies who may use it as to whether it’s a good product to integrate into new products.”

Among those who took part in the trials during Rachel’s sensory research were Harper Adams Vice-Chancellor Professor Ken Sloan, as well as the Chief Executive of Universities UK, Vivienne Stern MBE – who spoke with Rachel and Dr Posri about the project during a recent fact-finding visit and explored some duckweed protein.

With these sensory sessions complete, Rachel is now working to write up her findings – with her eyes firmly set on graduation in September this year once the project is complete.

She added: “Studying at Harper for the past four years has been wonderful.

“I’ve learnt so much about the food industry and how it works through Harper’s great lecturers. The placement year was an initially huge pull for me compared to other universities, as I wanted to see what the industry had to offer and how it operates before I graduated.

“When I came to an Open Day it was so positive and inspiring and seemed like a great place to come. 

“All the staff and students are so friendly - which has made my time here so enjoyable, and lifelong friends have been made!”