A self-adhesive, lab-grade and food-grade film called SoyShield earned the $20,000 grand prize in the 31st annual Student Soybean Innovation Competition during the awards ceremony on Wednesday evening at the Purdue Memorial Union in West Lafayette, Ind. This year’s event added a new soy-based food innovation track, which was won by a high-protein snack called Soy Straws.

The Student Soybean Innovation Competition is a partnership between the Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) and Purdue University. ISA awarded more than $35,000 to four teams that created new products in the industry track. In the soy-based food track, five teams earned a total of $11,000. To win these competitions, Purdue University students must develop innovative applications for soybeans. More than 100 students completed the competition through the two tracks comprised of 31 teams.

“The goal of the competition is to highlight the versatility of soybeans while addressing a need in agriculture or the general public,” said ISA Board Chair Denise Scarborough, a farmer from LaCrosse, Ind. “ISA looks forward to working with Purdue students each year and seeing what unique products they create. The products made by these students can expand opportunities and markets for all Indiana soybean growers. We are excited about SoyShield and Soy Straws.”

SoyShield wins top prize in the industrial soy products track

Nineteen teams of 62 students with 21 faculty advisors competed in this year’s industrial soy products track.

SoyShield is a 100 percent biodegradable, highly elastic, self-adhesive lab-grade and food-grade film designed to be used in commercial laboratory settings for sealing chemical containers, while also being suitable for home use as an alternative to plastic wrap. SoyShield was created by Purdue University students Claire Eckhardt, Nicholas Emge and Leah Hartzell. Both Eckhardt and Emge are sophomores majoring in environmental and natural resources engineering. Eckhardt is from Albuquerque, N.M., and Emge is from O’Fallon, Mo. Hartzell is a sophomore from Miami, Fla., majoring in agricultural engineering.

Originally intended for a laboratory market, SoyShield is an environmentally friendly alternative to petroleum-based films. The SoyShield team said there is a growing need for biodegradable solutions for one-use-only materials as many university-based laboratories are adopting new environmental standards. Due to its soybean ingredients, SoyShield has the added benefit of being able to replace plastic wrap in kitchens for preserving food. Because SoyShield is permeable, there may be additional uses for this product.

“In the home consumer market, there is a great need for elastic films to seal food,” Eckhardt said. “Additionally, the permeable and compostable nature of SoyShield makes it much less of a choking hazard for children in the home compared to non-permeable plastic counterparts currently on the market.”

Each student said they were pleased with the experience of participating in the Student Soybean Innovation Competition. “Participating in this competition has been an incredibly rewarding experience,” Hartzell said. “Co-creating SoyShield has helped me gain a deeper understanding of the business and marketing aspects of a project rather than solely focusing on technical skills. Being able to see our vision come to life in the lab and then working with my teammates to continually improve our prototype was such a gratifying process.”

Soy Straws team wins soy-based food innovation track

The soy-based food innovation track was a new addition to the competition this year. The competition required students to develop novel high-protein snack items using soy. In total, 12 teams all of whom are College of Agriculture students who worked with Purdue Food Science Department to create products made with the food grade facilities on campus competed for top prize.

Soy Straws, a lightweight, shelf-stable snack that resembles an egg roll cookie from Spain called a barquilleros, earned the $5,000 top prize in the first-ever Student Soy Food Competition. The creators of Soy Straws said they offer the ability to deliver a variety of flavors and a simple manufacturing process. The product’s marketing plan said Soy Straws are a crispy, high protein snack with 15 grams of protein and 0 trans fats. The winning team called themselves The Edemamas and featured Purdue students Anna Hicks, Rong Yang and Sara Thomason.

“Getting crispy products can be a little bit tricky, especially a protein snack,” Hicks said. “It can be a little bit tricky to get the textures you want. There is a lot of trial and error with different formulations to get the texture you want. We were really excited when we were brainstorming because those crispy round snacks aren’t currently on the market.”

Dr. Rodolfo Pinal People’s Choice Award

In addition to the other prizes, the more than 400 attendees of the Student Soybean Innovation Competition Awards Ceremony could each vote for their favorite product for the $500 People’s Choice award. This prize was officially renamed in honor Dr. Rodolfo Pinal, Associate Professor of Industrial and Molecular Pharmaceutics who died in December 2024. Pinal was a frequent faculty advisor for students in this competition, many of whom were prize winners, including the past two winning teams.

This year’s award went to SoyCare, soybean-based diapers that provide a cost-effective, highly biodegradable and renewable solution to meet a growing demand. The integration of soy-based absorbent technology and soy-derived fabric ensures high absorbency, comfort and complete biodegradability – which is important with diapers significantly filling U.S. landfills. The SoyCare team members include Soumil Gupta, who plans to major in chemical engineering; Mary Busayo Oluyemi, a doctoral student in the Department of Food Science; and Himanjali Tavva, a freshman food science major.

The contest introduces Purdue students to the multi-faceted uses and vast potential of soybeans while drawing on students’ creativity to develop products that utilize soy.

“Indiana soybean checkoff funds are used, in part, to find new uses and new markets for our soybeans – creating more demand and higher value uses to help our farms to be more profitable and sustainable,” said ISA Board Director Jenna Scott, a farmer from Muncie, Ind., at chair of ISA’s Sustainability and Value Creation Committee. “The Student Soybean Innovation Competition allows ISA to create relationships with bright and creative students and their advisors at Purdue. Products from this contest have the potential to help us increase the value of the soybeans we grow.”

Industry working with students

The students involved in the competition represented a variety of majors including agronomy, biological engineering, animal science, pharmacy and environmental and natural resource engineering. Each team works with two faculty advisors who provide technical and market research support. Many advisors worked with more than one team of students.

This year’s industrial track judges included four ISA board members: Allen Buchanan of Fowler, Ind.; David Hardin of Avon, Ind.; Roger Wenning of Greensburg, Ind.; and Brian Warpup of Warren, Ind. Also three industry experts served as judges including Dan Dawes with AgriNovus, Dr. Clayton Westerman of BioBond Adhesives and Brit Walker with ADM.

The food track judges were ISA Board Directors, Jenna Scott and Andrew McDaniel, a farmer from Waldron, Ind., Soy Nutrition Institute Global CEO Julie Ohmen, Purdue Food Science professor Dr. Owen Jones and Egglife Foods Research and Development scientist Audra Craft.

Additional industrial track winners

Earning second place this year, and a $10,000 prize, were the creators of SoySleek, a soy-based shampoo bar. SoySleek is made with natural, chemical-free ingredients. Each ingredient was chosen to produce healthy, shiny hair that maintains the hair’s natural oils and color. The bar is concentrated with cleansing, longevity, and eco-friendly properties.

The SoySleek team members include three Purdue sophomores including Riya Miglani, a biological engineering major; Shreya Prakash, a mechanical engineering major; and Angelus Vanhappilly, an industrial engineering major.

Finishing third, and earning a $5,000 prize, were the creators of PuraSoy, a multi-purpose pad. PuraSoy is a 100 percent soy-based, dry multi-purpose pad product made with two pure soy-based ingredients. It is gentle on a variety of surfaces including skin, face, glassware and dishes. PuraSoy has a silky feeling and has soybeans incorporated in every aspect of the production process, including the base pad and the wax used. The PuraSoy team consists of Jocelyn Erickson, a freshman majoring in industrial engineering, and Jessica Parks, a freshman majoring in supply chain and operations management.

Additional food track winners

Earning the $3,000 second prize was Team Senbabes, which created a snack called Senbae that is based on a traditional Japanese rice cracker. The developers of Senbae said these soy-based snacks include vital micronutrient and antioxidant properties that are beneficial for consumers. The crackers come in flavors such as miso paste, curry powder and soy sauce. The Purdue students who make up Team Senbabes are Natcha Ngaosuphanvongs and Karn Phureesitr.

Taking the $2,000 third prize was a plant-based jerky called Tempehrados. This jerky combines a nutritious Indonesian food known as tempeh with bold Mexican flavors such as Chile Ancho, Chile Colorado and Chili Flakes. Tempeh is rich in vitamins and minerals, including riboflavin and manganese. All of the Mexican flavors are balanced with the sweetness of natural honey. The Tempehrados team is made up of three Purdue students: Shams Adigozalzade, Claudia Guillen and Nicolas Rosy.

Indiana soybean farmers’ investment in finding new soybean innovations is not limited to the competition. The state soybean checkoff also funds the Soybean Utilization Endowed Chair at Purdue’s College of Agriculture, Dr. Nathan Mosier, to lead research into new uses for soybeans. Also attending the awards ceremony was United Soybean Board CEO Lucas Lentsch. The United Soybean Board is the national soybean checkoff program, and Lentsch said developing new products is a focus for the future.

Click here for more details on ISA’s investment in soybean innovation. To watch the awards ceremony, go online to Purdue’s YouTube page here.