How Cornell Students Created a Snackable Innovation

When a group of Cornell food science students gathered in a classroom to brainstorm product ideas for the 2025 IFTSA (IFT Student Association) & Mars Product Development Competition, they didn’t start with spreadsheets or sensory data. They started with cravings.

"We all loved sushi," says Zachary Bershad, an undergraduate member of the team. "But between dorms without fridges and limited options in our small college town, it just wasn’t accessible."

That craving led to a deeper realization: for all its global popularity, sushi hadn’t evolved much. It was still confined to refrigerated display cases, requiring cold chains and consumption soon after purchase. The team began to ask, why hasn’t sushi become more portable? Could it be redesigned to fit the lives of busy, sustainability-minded consumers?

"We threw out the wildest ideas we could think of," says Bakhyt Uteuliyeva, who was one of the team’s co-captains and graduated with the Class of 2025. Ideas ranged from tofu-skin baklava to SCOBY-filled gusher gummies. But the one that stuck was the idea of sushi—reimagined as a plant-based, layered, shelf-stable snack.

"It was something we were all passionate about,” she says. “It allowed us to tackle so many things at once: sustainability, texture engineering, upcycled ingredients, even global flavor integration."

The result was NoriNom, a modular snack kit designed to capture the flavor and feel of sushi in a shelf-stable format. Each kit includes whey-fortified rice puffs glazed in soy sauce to help the nori adhere, providing a crisp, savory base. In a separate compartment sits a creamy edamame mash paired with marinated oyster mushrooms—each layer carefully formulated for flavor, texture, and long-term stability All components are shelf stable for up to nine months and assembled by the consumer just before eating. The team envisioned it as part snack, part experience—a playful yet technically sophisticated reimagining of traditional sushi.

It turned out that the students’ concept was a winning one. The Cornell team placed first in the 2025 IFTSA & Mars Product Development Competition, which culminated in Chicago this summer at the IFT FIRST Annual Event and Expo.

Building a Real-World R&D Team

To turn the NoriNom concept into reality, the Cornell team adopted a highly professional structure. With 18 students from diverse backgrounds—ranging from freshmen to PhD candidates, and majors including food science, bioengineering, and hotel administration—the team divided into subgroups aligned with real-world R&D categories: marketing, sensory, nutrition, sustainability, technical problem solving, safety, and economic feasibility.

"We designed the team like a company," says co-captain Annika Madler, a PhD student who oversaw the technical development. "Each subteam owned their area, but we had weekly integration meetings to make sure every component was working in harmony."

Bershad emphasized how critical those formulation sessions were: "We all came together on weekends to build and taste the product. That hands-on work kept us focused. It wasn't just theoretical—we were making real food, and that meant solving real problems."

The leadership was similarly structured. Madler took the lead on technical components, Uteuliyeva led the business and market feasibility arm, and another student, Jun Li, managed safety and sensory testing. "We wanted each person to have a stake in the outcome," says Uteuliyeva. "That ownership made the teamwork feel meaningful."

Innovation in Every Layer

Creating a shelf-stable snack inspired by sushi required rethinking every aspect of the formulation. Avocado was an early casualty. "We loved the idea of an avocado mash, but it just wouldn’t hold up," says Bershad. "It spoiled too quickly, and it killed our shelf-life goals."

Instead, the team turned to edamame. "It offered a similar creamy mouthfeel but came with its own nutritional benefits," says Madler. More importantly, when mashed, edamame naturally released lecithin, which acted as an emulsifier. "That discovery was huge. We didn’t need to add synthetic stabilizers. It was all naturally present in the ingredient."

Rice was another cornerstone of the product, but the team wanted it to do more than just provide texture. By incorporating acid whey, a dairy byproduct rich in minerals, into their rice cakes, they achieved both sustainability and improved puffing structure. "It helped us create a better texture and reduce waste from other food systems," says Uteuliyeva.

There were challenges, of course. The lactose in acid whey caused Maillard browning, so they diluted it to keep concentrations below 0.03%. Protein denaturation during parboiling was another hurdle. "The proteins would curdle and ruin the texture," Madler explains. "But through ultrafiltration and dilution studies, we made it work."

The soy glaze, designed to adhere nori to the rice base while acting as a flavor layer and moisture barrier, also required fine-tuning. "We had to get the Brix just right," says Madler. "Too low and it was soggy. Too high and it cracked."

The Shelf Stability Breakthrough

Sushi, by nature, is not shelf stable. Making it so meant tackling shelf life from multiple angles. "Each component had its own mode of failure," says Uteuliyeva. "The edamame mash oxidized, the rice puffs lost crispness, and the mushrooms got rubbery."

To solve this, the team designed a modular packaging system. The edamame mash was vacuum-sealed and retorted at 250°F for 3 minutes. The mushrooms were stored in a flexible pouch, and the rice puffs in a MAP-sealed tray with 70% nitrogen and 30% carbon dioxide. Natural antioxidants like rosemary extract and vitamin E were added to the mash to extend its shelf life.

Accelerated testing showed the product could last nine months at room temperature without degradation. "That was a huge win," says Madler. "It meant we could actually take this to market."

Designing for Feasibility

While the technical challenges were daunting, the team never lost sight of market feasibility. "We asked ourselves constantly, would this scale? Would people pay for it?" says Bershad.

Packaging was the biggest cost driver, accounting for nearly 12 times the ingredient cost. "But we decided not to cut corners," says Uteuliyeva. "Our dual-tray design, while complex, was essential to preserving quality."

Ingredient decisions also had to serve multiple goals. Acid whey, for example, was chosen for its nutritional and sustainability benefits, but it also improved texture. "That was a perfect win-win," says Madler.

The team ran consumer testing to validate their $4.89 price point. Over 70% of participants said they would buy NoriNom, and 80% said they’d pay more for a sustainable, high-protein option. "That validation gave us the confidence to move forward," says Bershad.

What Made It a Winner

Ultimately, it was the integration of science, creativity, and strategy that made NoriNom stand out. "We weren’t just making a snack," says Madler. "We were solving a system of problems."

NoriNom brought bold flavors into a shelf-stable, plant-based format. It tackled food waste through upcycled ingredients, respected sensory appeal through careful formulation, and delivered on modern consumer values like convenience, sustainability, and health.

"We never had a moment where we said, 'We’re definitely going to win,'" says Uteuliyeva. "But we kept going because we believed in the idea."

What’s Next for NoriNom?

While NoriNom was built in benchtop sessions and packaging trials, its impact stretched far beyond the product itself. For many students, the competition offered a glimpse into the complexity and joy of real-world food innovation.

While there are no immediate commercialization plans, the Cornell team sees a clear path forward—and plenty of unfinished business. "There are still things we want to refine," says Madler. "One big area is finding a way to reuse the oyster marinade in our soy glaze to reduce waste. We couldn’t get the formulation stable enough during the initial round, but it's something we’d love to revisit."

Bershad, who is in his junior year, plans to spend some of his free time exploring whether NoriNom can gain traction beyond the competition. “I’m excited to see if there’s interest from consumers or potential partners, but none of the team has any concrete plans for NoriNom moving forward,” he says.

For now, NoriNom’s future remains unwritten, but its story has already made its mark in the evolving conversation around food innovation.ft