The joint project between UrSnacks and Xiamen University won the Silver Award at the Xiamen University Entrepreneurship Plan Competition of the “Challenge Cup.”

The industry–university–research collaboration project titled “Maximizing Fruit Value: R&D and Industrialization of Key Technologies for Enhancing Quality and Efficiency in High-Quality Freeze-Dried Fruits and for the Full-Value Utilization of By-Products,” undertaken in partnership with Xiamen University’s School of Physical Science and Technology, was awarded the Silver Prize at the 15th “Challenge Cup” Student Entrepreneurship Plan Competition of Xiamen University. The project was mentored by Dr. Yang Yun and Professor Xu Qingchi from the School of Physical Science and Technology at Xiamen University.

Event Name: The 15th “Challenge Cup” Xiamen University Student Entrepreneurship Plan Competition

Event Level: University-level (“Challenge Cup” China College Students’ Entrepreneurship Plan Competition adopts a three-tier competition system—university-level, provincial-level, and national-level; this event is at the university level)

Award Level: Silver Award

Award-winning project: “Maximizing the Value of Fruit: Research and Industrialization of Key Technologies for Enhancing Quality and Efficiency in High-Quality Freeze-Dried Fruits and for the Full-Value Utilization of By-Products”

Supervising Instructor: Dr. Yang Yun and Professor Xu Qingchi (School of Physics Science and Technology, Xiamen University)

Industry Partner: UrSnacks (Fujian) Food Technology Co., Ltd.

Upcoming schedule: The project has entered the provincial competition selection process.

The “Challenge Cup” China College Students’ Entrepreneurship Plan Competition is jointly organized by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, the China Association for Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education, and other entities. It operates under a three-tier competition system: university-level, provincial-level, and national-level rounds. The university-level round constitutes the first stage of this three-tier structure, with winning projects selected to advance to the provincial-level competition.

This award-winning project focuses on two key technological areas in the production of freeze-dried fruits: first, enhancing the quality and efficiency of the manufacturing process; and second, achieving full-value utilization of fruit by-products. Leveraging Xiamen University’s established expertise in fundamental physics, the project conducts systematic research into how freeze-drying process parameters influence critical quality attributes, including nutrient retention, flavor restoration, and color stability.

This award represents a milestone achievement of the industry–university–research collaboration between UrSnacks and the School of Physics Science and Technology at Xiamen University. The partnership spans areas such as refined process control in freeze-drying, data-driven research on quality indicators, and the exploration of high-value utilization pathways for by-products, with related research efforts ongoing.

To date, UrSnacks has achieved several milestone advancements in industry qualifications, market certifications, and technological R&D: it was recognized as a provincial-level key leading enterprise for agricultural industrialization in Fujian Province (2023), received the Salomon Certification awarding it “No. 1 nationwide in freeze-dried fruit sales for 2024” (May 2025), and its wholly owned production base, Jinjiang UrSnacks Food Co., Ltd., was granted two invention patents related to freeze-dried fruits by the National Intellectual Property Administration (February 2026).