[Edaily Reporter SIN SOO-JUNG ] Pulmuone Corporate(017810)sponsored a university student innovation food development competition aimed at discovering sustainable food ideas.

Pulmuone Corporate announced on the 7th that it officially sponsored ECOTROPHELIA KOREA 2026, held at the Daejeon Convention Center, and presented the “Pulmuone Award,” the Excellence Award.

ECOTROPHELIA KOREA is a competition in which college students majoring in food-related fields compete to develop food products that demonstrate both sustainability and market potential. It serves as the South Korean qualifying round for ECOTROPHELIA EUROPE, a food innovation competition that originated in Europe.

University students from food-related departments across the country participated in this year’s competition. Judging was based on criteria such as innovation, market potential, technical proficiency, and sustainability. A total of six teams received awards, including one Daesang winner, two Excellence Award winners, and three Special Award winners.

The Daesang, the SEMPIO Award, was awarded to the Eco-Aco team from Dongguk University. The Excellence Awards, the Pulmuone Corporate Awards, were presented to the Road to Ecotrophelia team from Dongguk University and Team 508 from Yonsei University. Special Awards went to Lituna from Chung-Ang University, Brewal from Kyungpook National University, and Hanspoon from Korea University.

The “Road to Eco-Tropelia” team, which received the Pulmuone Corporate Award, proposed functional cookies designed to reduce caffeine intake. Team 508 presented sustainable, gluten-free dumplings made with seaweed-derived ingredients.

Pulmuone Corporate sponsored the competition again this year, following its sponsorship last year. The company plans to continue its collaboration with the Association for Sustainable Food Science and Technology and expand the foundation for industry-academia cooperation so that students’ ideas can be applied in the industrial sector.

Kim Tae-seok, Director of the Pulmuone Technology Institute, said, “The competitiveness of the future food industry begins with the creative ideas and challenges of young talent.” He added, “Pulmuone Corporate will continue to expand industry-academia collaboration to promote a sustainable food culture and drive innovation in future food technology, and we will continue to provide various forms of support to help innovative talent grow.”