Freya MacDonald, Ayla Henderson and Tia Graham produced a Kiribati inspired Coconut, Squash and Ginger Soup. The winning team will now see their soup produced by the Baxters Fochabers site with 3,000 tins donated to the school.
Organised in partnership with DYW (Developing the Young Workforce) Moray, the Soup Challenge offers local youngsters the opportunity to test their talent and develop their entrepreneurial skills while finding out more about the broad range of career paths in the food manufacturing sector.
This year, the challenge had a global flavour – pupils were tasked with creating a new soup that was inspired by a country or region and packed with tasty ingredients while remaining cost effective for consumers. In addition to developing the recipe and making the new soup, the teams also had to consider elements like pricing, packaging, labelling and marketing, all vital parts of bringing a new product to market.
S2 pupils from five local high schools - Elgin Academy, Elgin High School, Forres Academy, Milne’s High School and Speyside High School - participated in the Soup Challenge, with flavours ranging from classic Italian Lasagne to exotic Moroccan Blitz.
Before the final, the teams attended a workshop at UHI Moray where Baxters colleagues helped them refine their recipes and perfect their presentations ahead of the big day.
Graeme Morrison, Head Judge and European Transformation Director at Baxters, commented: “The Soup Challenge is one of the highlights of our year at Baxters and we are continually impressed with the creativity and hard work from everyone who participates. Having judged the competition for many years, I can genuinely say that the campaigns just keep getting better.
“This year’s winners stood out thanks to their well chosen flavours and considered approach to developing and launching the new soup. Congratulations to Elgin High School, I for one can’t wait to try a bowl.”