A team of Fresno State agricultural business students earned second place in the Student Food Marketing Challenge held at the Food Distribution Research Society annual conference Oct. 12 in San Diego.
The team of seniors Victor Fraga (Sanger) and Mallory Sutherland (Bakersfield) and juniors Benjamin Bylsma (Ballico), Dawson Donich (Ripon), Peace Kapalo (Lilongwe, Malawi, Africa) and Diego Mantelli (Morgan Hill) analyzed recent strategic challenges on California beet growers and regional supply chains.
They also focused on potential responses after the decommissioning of the Spreckels Sugar Company factory in Brawley this year, the state’s last remaining beet sugar processing center, which marks the end of a 150-year chapter in California agriculture.
The Fresno State students proposed an innovative strategy centered on forming a new partnership between California sugar growers and PepsiCo, aiming to strengthen the state’s sugar industry while benefiting both the company and local communities.
Competing against universities from across the United States, Fresno State’s preliminary proposal earned an invitation to the conference with two other teams. Judges and industry stakeholders rated the University of Connecticut team one percentage point ahead of Fresno State in the final-round presentation, and a team from Zamorano University in Honduras placed third.
