The Chungnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services announced recently that it has successfully concluded the "2026 Chungnam Tasty Processing Grand Festival" held at the research institute grounds, with approximately 550 attendees. The event aimed to foster the provincial agricultural product processing industry and expand market channels into public food service and dining sectors.

The event featured several programs, including a competition for developing innovative processed products designed to discover creative processing ideas from residents and support their commercialization; a business model contest evaluating the competitiveness and market viability of processed products developed by local farmers; consumer response surveys; and dietary lifestyle experience programs.

The processed product development contest supports residents in turning their processing ideas into prototypes by linking them with the manufacturing infrastructure of city and county agricultural product comprehensive processing centers. Seven teams received awards on this day:

-Grand Prize: "Melon I Joa" team for their Susin Melon Ciabatta.
-Top Excellence Awards: "Gongju-ro" team for Dangjin Glutinous Rice Bread, and "Chungjeon Research Institute" team for Green Onion Root Ginger Base.
-Excellence Awards: "Rice With You" team for G-Hyang Rice Bran Multi-Perfume, "Yesan 85" team for One Apple Sesame Dot, "Mayang" team for Mayang Jam, and "Mat Gongbang" team for Pear Cule & Pear Cube.

Notably, the Susin Melon Ciabatta by the "Melon I Joa" team creates added value by connecting farm produce directly with the processing center.

In the business model contest for processed products, entries were evaluated on their business and market potential to expand sales channels and advance business models.

-Grand Prize: Dangjin Saeeun Bio for Black Soybean Powder and Black Bean Protein Balance.
-Top Excellence Award: Nonsan Surimwon for Nonsan Low-Sugar Strawberry Sikhye.
-Excellence Awards: Cheonan Green Land Co., Ltd. for Pear Lemon Ade base, and Geumsan Sunhanul Hongsam for Sunhanul Daily Stick.

The grand prize-winning Black Soybean Powder by Dangjin Saeeun Bio maximized its savory flavor by utilizing a roasting method that minimizes lipid oxidation, while Black Bean Protein Balance utilizes powder from seven grains including black soybeans, enabling consumers to consume 17.3g of protein per serving.

Additionally, consumer response surveys were conducted to enhance the marketability of processed products made from local agricultural goods. Targeting products usable in public school meals and cafes, the research plans to analyze taste, convenience, pricing, and areas for improvement to derive actionable data for product enhancement.

Furthermore, processing experience programs such as making cakes, lattes, and ades using local rice and agricultural products provided consumers with an opportunity to directly experience local produce and healthy dietary habits, receiving an enthusiastic response from participants.

An official from the Chungnam Agricultural Research and Extension Services stated, "This event went beyond a simple product evaluation; it was a venue to uncover creative processing ideas, communicate directly with consumers, and observe market trends to evolve the business models of agricultural enterprises. We will continue our efforts to ensure that the agricultural processing industry grows into a new growth engine for Chungnam agriculture."

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