2013 Press Releases

Crisp sound of success

21 Mar 2013
The Rooties team is pictured following their win (L-R): Teresa Daly (Kanturk), Cáit Lynch (Castleisland), Breffney O'Dowling-Keane (Blackrock), Muireann Lynch (Skibbereen), Rebecca Geaney (Whitechurch) & Maeve O’Mahony (Carrigaline), with Sean O’Sullivan (CEO, Cork County Enterprise Board) (Photo by Emmet Curtin)

A team of Food Science and Food Marketing and Entrepreneurship students hungry for success have won the UCC Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2013.

Their product, Rooties, a tasty root vegetable crisp snack which wowed the judges, secured Rebecca Geaney (Whitechurch), Cáit Lynch (Castleisland), Maeve O’Mahony (Carrigaline), Muireann Lynch (Skibbereen) Breffney O'Dowling-Keane (Blackrock) and Teresa Daly (Kanturk) €5,000 in prize money.

Other winners on the menu included ‘You’ Yogurt, Optodose, RunSmart and Silver Marks, all of who received prized money for their efforts, equalling a total prize pot of €10,000 towards further enhancing an entrepreneurial culture within UCC.

Rooties bucks the trend usually associated with crisps as its main ingredient is root vegetables containing little fat and fortified with protein. The unique manufacturing process ensures the integrity and goodness of the vegetables is maintained while the absorbed protein acts as a barrier and protects the crisp-like texture. Green flecks from the Onion Bhaji flavouring not only add a unique taste, but also visually enhance the crisps. The team was supervised by Prof. Yrjo Roos (School of Food & Nutritional Sciences, UCC) and Dr Joe Bogue (Food Business and Development, UCC).

Professor Anita Maguire, VP for Research and Innovation, UCC, in opening the Award ceremony commented: “The strength of research in UCC is clearly evident in the award finalists, where many teams demonstrate technical know-how emerging from UCC’s research excellence. This event is an example of partnering, where the student society, relevant academic staff, in conjunction with regional agencies, portrays UCC in the best possible light and profiles the outstanding work of our students in an integrated manner”.

The Awards are coordinated by the UCC Entrepreneurial and Social Society (E&S), the College of Business and Law, IGNITE (UCC's Graduate Business Innovation Incubation Centre) and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation.

In presenting the overall award to the ‘Rooties’ team, Sean O’Sullivan, CEO of Cork County Enterprise Board complimented the award winners, remarking: “They had an exceptional product in concept, look and taste along with an innovative food technology process, with a range of flavours in planning. ‘Rooties’ are a strong team with a clearly thought out route to market and realistic marketing strategies”.

The Chairman of the external adjudication panel, Enda McDonnell, Regional Director of Enterprise Ireland, complimented the “diversity of business opportunities, many of which have the potential to develop into global companies”. Graham Healy, Client Sales Director, Accenture "was very impressed with the confidence, professionalism and detailed knowledge demonstrated by each of the finalists. Their entrepreneurship, allied to their specialist skills and business acumen, bode well for the future of Irish business". Mary Byrne (CEO, Statistical Solutions) also served on the assessment panel.

Tom Dunton, Auditor of the UCC Entrepreneurial and Social Society, acknowledged the generous sponsorship of Bank of Ireland, Accenture, the Cork City & County Enterprise Boards, the College of Business and Law at UCC and Enterprise Ireland. The student society auditor also recognised the help that the society received from Dr Brian O’Flaherty, BIS, UCC.

The full list of award winners are as follows:

  • Overall Winner (€5,000) - Rooties (Rebecca Geaney, Cáit Lynch, Maeve O’Mahony, Muireann Lynch, Breffney O'Dowling-Keane & Teresa Daly – 4th Year Food Science and Food Marketing and Entrepreneurship.) Root vegetable crisp snack.
  • Best Technology (€2,000) - Optodose (James Foody, Josef Tugwell, Maura Power & Adrian O'Sullivan - 4th year Electrical & Electronic Engineering with BioDesign) CT Scan radiation optimisation.
  • Runner Up (€2,000) - RunSmart (Cormac Ryan & Rosemary O'Keeffe – Both Tyndall PhD Students) Wireless gait analysis
  • Merit Award (€500) – Silver Marks (Niall O'Mahony, Hugh Kenny, Bin Zhang & Ken O'Shea – MBS(BIS)) Sterling silver valuation app.
  • Merit Award (€500) – ‘You’ Yogurt (Raymond Lynch, Richard Mac Sweeney, Eanna Heffernan, Nicola Mulcahy & Carolyn Walsh – 4th Year Food Science and Food Marketing and Entrepreneurship) A fortified yogurt product that is suitable for women of all ages.

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