Puratos Corp., Cherry Hill, NJ, won first place in the American Society of Baking (ASB) Product Development Competition for its Muesli Cookie. The competition was held during ASB’s BakingTech 2015, March 1-3 at the Chicago Hilton in Chicago.

Competition contestants submitted written proposals and displayed detailed presentations during a poster session. Visitors were able to taste the concepts before the entries were presented to a panel of judges.

During the ASB closing ceremony on March 3, Braden Cadenelli, Kristine Vennell, Paul Morabito and Frank Devos, all from Puratos, accepted the winning title. Other entries vying for the honor were Buckwheat Pita from Little Door and Loaf Divided from Corbion.

Made with 17 grams of whole grains per serving and ingredients such as apricot, cranberries, almonds, whole grains and seeds, the Muesli Cookie concept put a twist on the traditional Swiss German breakfast dish, according to Puratos, and was inspired by two important consumer trends: health versus pleasure and tradition versus innovation. The trends resulted from a global study that revealed how perception of health does not necessarily mean compromise on taste (Taste Tomorrow Global Study, 2011). The study also revealed that consumers are interested in keeping the old, while embracing the new.