Penn State’s Food Innovation & Product Design capstone course, led by Dr. Josephine Wee, Associate Professor of Food Science, gives food science students the unique opportunity to tackle real-world product development challenges for Pennsylvania-based food and beverage manufacturers. PennTAP serves as the bridge, connecting businesses who can benefit from access to student talent and the state-of-the-art facilities in the Department of Food Science. As part of its services, PennTAP connects Pennsylvania companies to opportunities with Penn State capstone courses in a variety of disciplines at University Park and across the Commonwealth campuses.

“Industry-University partnerships are core to our Penn State mission,” Dr. Wee said. “The experiences in this course are clear examples of what the impact looks like: elevating student learning experiences and providing dedicated R&D to small and mid-sized businesses.”

“PennTAP plays a critical role in identifying the right industry partners for the course,” she continued. “They bring knowledge and understanding that we need to support Pennsylvania businesses, which is well-matched to one of my goals for the course: to provide students with career opportunities within Pennsylvania. They quickly learn that they don’t have to go to New York or California—there are excellent jobs right here.”

“Through the course, students develop close working relationships with CEOs and COOs at industry partners, visiting their facilities and facilitating weekly meetings for real projects. Manufacturers lean on them to find solutions they can implement,” said Amy Jorden, PennTAP Technical Advisor in the southcentral region of Pennsylvania.

Jorden invited The Organic Snack Company and Kate’s Real Food to be part of the course. The Organic Snack Company is the dedicated manufacturer of Kate’s Real Food products, which owns and leads the brand, marketing and go-to-market strategy. Both are based in Bedford County. Students researched, recommended, developed, and tested new flavor offerings for Kate’s Real Food bars.

“This is their fifth year working with the Food Science students on product development,” Jorden said. “It’s clear that they are deriving a lot of value from the experience. In fact, last year, the company hired one of the students from the course to work on their R&D.”

Brittany Thaler, Chief Marketing Officer for Kate’s Real Food, worked with this year’s team of students and explained that their projects encompass the full scope of product development, from market research to recipe development and testing.

“It’s valuable for students to see what product development really looks like firsthand—and how the work fits into the bigger picture,” Thaler said. “They learn the technical side, but they also build confidence communicating their recommendations and working with a real team. Tools and technology change, but leadership and personal responsibility will always be needed.”

Thaler also highlighted the company’s long-term, growing partnership with Penn State. “There are many benefits to working with courses like Dr. Wee’s Food Innovation and Product Design capstone. We benefit from her expertise, the students’ commitment, the facility and equipment, and the ability to run testing in a real environment,” she said.

Thaler shared that The Organic Snack Company and Kate’s Real Food are also connected to Dr. Mark Gagnon’s senior level Agribusiness Management course in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education. Dr. Gagnon’s students have worked on sourcing solutions, and the two student groups are seeking new ways to work together—building on the value of the company’s Penn State partnership and aligning with Kate’s Real Food’s Preserve Where You Play platform focused on sustainability and outdoor access.

PennTAP Technical Advisor Heidi Shadeck, serving the northeast region, connected her client, Waterford, Pa.-based Folkland Foods to the capstone course opportunity. Folkland Foods was established by the Troyer family, a three-generation mainstay in Pennsylvania’s potato farming industry. Their Folkland Foods facility opened in 2025 following a major capital expansion at the Troyer’s farm to produce frozen, organic potato products.

“Having worked with Troyer Farms on efficiency recommendations throughout the opening of their manufacturing facility, I knew they had product expansion plans that would fit the vision for the Food Innovation & Product Design capstone,” Shadeck said. “A total of 10 students worked in two separate teams to research, develop, and test ideas.”

“Both teams did an amazing job,” said Tricia Restifo, Folkland Foods CFO. “They handled the development from beginning to end. They visited our plant, conducted surveys, identified challenges, estimated costs, did a margin analysis, and ultimately presented us with viable options for two product line expansions in the organic frozen potato market.”

Zack Troyer, Folkland Foods co-founder, agreed. “We are a small team at a fast-growing company. We will make some tweaks to their work, but the students took a lot off our plate,” he said. “And they earned true real-world experiences developing near market-ready products. I think they also had a lot of fun because of the nature of our business.”

“We are excited to continue this partnership and keep building the pipeline of new talent for Pennsylvania’s food manufacturers,” Troyer continued.

“Heidi’s introductions to ways we can tap into Penn State have been invaluable,” Restifo added. “We didn’t know these opportunities existed, but she connected us with the right people, and they have embraced our mission and our goals.”

Jorden summed up how orchestrating worthwhile industry partnerships for capstone courses like Food Innovation & Product Design fulfills PennTAP’s mission to empower Pennsylvania businesses through University resources. “For small- to mid-sized businesses, Penn State students can serve as a dedicated R&D team, creating solutions that can genuinely influence their growth while also cultivating potential talent.”

“The impact goes in both directions,” Dr. Wee added. “In addition to gaining industry knowledge, students are exposed to different career paths and have unique opportunities to discover their interests and talents. I appreciate PennTAP helping to make these collaborations possible.”

By fostering industry partnerships, PennTAP is creating opportunities that benefit students, businesses, and Pennsylvania’s economy. If your business could benefit from connecting with student talent through a capstone course or another Penn State program, reach out to PennTAP.