Innovation Through Food! The 12SUMMERS Product Innovation Competition Concludes, Industry-Academia Collaboration Delivers New Solutions for Nutritious Food

On June 30, 2026, the School of Food Science and Technology at Jiangnan University buzzed with innovative energy as the grand final of the inaugural "12SUMMERS Cup" Product Innovation Competition themed Healthy & Delicious Summer in Jiangnan took place. Fourteen student teams, selected from the preliminary rounds, delivered presentations one after another, showcasing a feast of food innovation integrating rigorous scientific expertise and sharp market insight.

This grand final marked far more than the closing of a campus competition—it represented a pivotal milestone that translated the strategic industry-academia partnership between 12SUMMERS and Jiangnan University, established via a joint laboratory signing back in April this year, from a signed framework into tangible on-the-ground collaboration.

Bridging Classrooms to Marketplaces Through Competition

At the opening speech, Fu Lili, Party Secretary of the School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, pointed out that the food industry is undergoing a rapid transformation, shifting its focus from "having enough to eat" to "eating well, eating healthily, and eating happily". The sector is in urgent need of interdisciplinary talents with solid professional knowledge, market awareness, and consumer empathy—professionals capable of turning creative concepts into marketable products and commercial value.

Therefore, the school has long encouraged students to step out of classrooms and into enterprises, urging them to write academic papers in manufacturing plants and translate creative ideas into market-ready offerings. She noted that this competition stands as a vivid practice of the school’s deepened integration of industry and education, as well as collaborative talent cultivation between universities and enterprises.

Xin Xinyan, Co-Founder of 12SUMMERS, shared her entrepreneurial journey of launching the brand alongside Founder Kico right after graduation. She candidly reflected that since entering the FMCG space, 12SUMMERS has forged an innovation path defined by constant trial and persistent dedication.

She encouraged all participating students not to regard this competition as the end of their innovation journey. 12SUMMERS always opens its doors to every ambitious, creative student from Jiangnan University, eager to collaborate with young talents to turn inspiration into creation and reward every passion for food innovation.

Crafting New Nutritious & Delicious Creations Inspired by Food Science

Launched in April, the competition drew enthusiastic participation from countless students of the School of Food Science and Technology. Teams competed across three core R&D tracks: grain & agricultural ingredient matching, novel thickening systems, and food-medicine homologous ingredients, delivering actionable, commercially viable food innovation proposals.

During the final showcase, the 14 teams presented their creations, putting classroom theories to the test via on-site tastings and judge Q&A sessions. Judges scored each entry holistically across dimensions including visual design, taste, manufacturing processes & equipment, technical concept, and originality.

Among all submissions, Salty Nourishing Bird’s Congee claimed the Grand Prize, breaking free from the traditional sweet-only bird’s nest dessert category to pioneer a new savory nourishment track. Formulated with low-sodium fresh milk as the base, blended with bird’s nest and multiple food-medicine homologous ingredients, the product delivers balanced nutritional benefits while supporting ambient shelf storage. Judges commended its standout differentiated market positioning and strong commercialization potential.

The First Prize winner, Ginseng Vitality Ease, addresses modern consumers’ fatigue and physical depletion. Developed as a ready-to-eat light nourishment drink blended with ginseng and herbal extracts, the formula contains zero unnecessary additives. The team aims to move beyond heavy, traditional tonics to create a gentle ginseng beverage suitable for daily long-term consumption.

Other standout entries including Pure Serenity Herbal Drink, Four Flavors Bird’s Nest Jelly, and Dual-Temperature Vitality Jelly pushed creative boundaries across herbal tea, ready-to-eat bird’s nest jelly, and new Chinese-style light nourishing desserts, each boasting distinct market differentiation.

Following the competition’s conclusion, the Grand Prize team will embark on a field research trip to trace production origins at 12SUMMERS’ factories in Xiamen and Indonesia, alongside an exclusive Bali sourcing experience.

Assigning Industrial Challenges to Students, Returning Academic Research Strength to the Industry

The significance of this grand final extends well beyond award recognition.

On April 2 this year, 12SUMMERS formally signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Jiangnan University—home to the world’s top-ranked food science discipline—to establish the Joint Laboratory for Nutritious, Healthy & Joyful Food, alongside the launch of the inaugural "12SUMMERS Cup" Product Innovation Competition.

The April signing laid the framework for collaboration, while the June competition turned written agreements into tangible, real-world progress. Together, the two parties develop forward-looking food products aligned with contemporary consumer demands, catering to diverse groups’ needs for healthy meals.

As Secretary Fu Lili emphasized, enterprises bring real industrial demands and market challenges onto campus, enabling students to grow by solving practical industry problems; universities in turn leverage their academic research and talent pool to fuel corporate innovation. This model embodies deep integration of education, talent, industrial, and innovation value chains.

From the April laboratory signing to the June competition finale, from joint lab development to creative ideas blooming at the contest, the inaugural "12SUMMERS Cup" has written a vibrant new chapter for industry-academia collaboration.

For 12SUMMERS, this event represents a comprehensive showcase of the brand’s unwavering commitment to clean ingredient formulas and sustained investment in R&D innovation. For Jiangnan University’s food science students, it offered an invaluable hands-on training opportunity to transition from textbook theory to real market practice.

Innovation stands as the primary driving force of the food industry, and young talent embodies its future. When top-tier academic research expertise converges with a national brand’s industrial practical experience, young creative minds are redefining the future of healthy food.