UNAIR NEWS – Universitas Airlangga (UNAIR) students continue to make innovations. Wanda Nurul Asifah, a student at the Faculty of Public Health (FKM) won second place in a national level competition entitled The role of Food Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Development of Nutrition in Indonesia which was held by the Nutrition Student Association at the Nahdlatul Ulama University Surabaya (UNUSA).

The competition consists of several stages: the preliminary stage announced the top ten finalists who can compete in the next round. The finalists must send their products to the committee and present them to the judges.

From the product assessment and presentation, Top Three was decided and Wanda won second place in the competition.

Wanda said that she created an innovation using local food ingredients, Moringa leaves as a basic ingredient for a food business idea in the form of healthy snacks rich in nutrients. According to her, the use of these plants as a snack ingredient is an opportunity to attract people’s interest in healthy and nutritious food.

“The use of Moringa leaves as a raw material for brownie chips is still rare, so I took advantage of this opportunity as a breakthrough with the formulation of suitable ingredients and affordable prices,” said Wanda.

Taste and product packaging

Wanda admitted that the challenge in making this snack innovation lies in its taste and product packaging for delivery to the competition judges.

“The challenge in participating in this competition is in the product formulation to produce the right taste of brownie chips. The other challenge was in sending products to the committee to ensure that the products are not broken during the delivery process,” she said.

At the end of the interview, Wanda admitted that she was very grateful for her achievements and invited other UNAIR students to keep making the most of opportunities to compete. “I am very happy and grateful to get the opportunity to take part in this business plan competition and win,” she said.

“For all my friends, don’t be afraid to fail in trying something and instill in yourself that you can do it. So, don’t waste every opportunity and keep trying and praying that every path can be made easier,” she added. (*)

Author: Aidatul Fitriyah

Editor: Binti Q Masruroh