There is no limit on the number of teams which can be entered from each university, provided all the team members are registered to study at a UK university (not PhD students). Teams may also be made up of students from several different universities, such as a group of friends or students on placement together.
Competition timeline
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1 May 2026 |
Application deadline 12 noon, including full technical dossier, to be sent to EcotropheliaUK@ifst.org |
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18 May 2026 |
Shortlisted teams announced |
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24 June 2026 |
Ecotrophelia UK competition final and prize giving |
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18-19 October 2026 |
European final - SIAL Paris |
Submitting an Entry
Please send the following by email to EcotropheliaUK@ifst.org by 12 Noon on 1 May 2026.
- Technical Dossier (guidance here)
- High-resolution image of product
- Letter of commitment
- Summary entry form
- Confirmation if your team has completed the Inspire 4 Ecotrophelia training (optional)
'Inspire 4 Ecotrophelia' Training
Briefing for 2026 Competition
We hosted a briefing session for university tutors and companies with details of how to enter the competition, guidance for tutors on how to support and guide teams and how universities are incorporating this as part of their courses. Watch the video below:
Key requirements for your product
Your product must meet the following criteria:
- be fit for human consumption and aimed at consumers;
- be marketable in retail distribution or the restaurant and hotel sectors;
- be innovative in one or more aspects compared to food products already on the market. This innovation can come from the concept, and/or technology, and/or recipe, and/or packaging etc;
- take on board eco-innovation, which could mean the basic ingredients (eg origin, organic or with low carbon footprint) and/or packaging (eg recyclable) and/or manufacturing process (eg energy saving, water recycling) and/or distribution-logistics (eg new channels or direct consumer sales), making it easier for all businesses in the food production chain to integrate the environmental dimension;
- stand out for its taste, nutritional or other qualities;
- be capable of being manufactured on an industrial scale, based on technical specifications (including ingredients, manufacturing process, cost price, business investment);
- conform to relevant regulations (including processing, additives and ingredients, packaging, labelling, advertising standards, food safety etc);
- be commercially relevant (eg suitable for a local and/or national and/or European market and meeting a demand, marketing plan, packaging, logistics);
- show an overall coherence across all the criteria set out above
Judging Criteria
Each area will be marked out of a maximum score of 10 points:
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TOTAL /100 marks |