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CAFLS Advantage

CAFLS Student Startups

Cultivate.CAFLS

Cultivate.CAFLS is an entrepreneurial competition that aims to encourage Clemson students to develop ideas and explore innovative solutions. Each fall, students from the university’s College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences compete for prizes to help bring their business plan to life.

kinlyn hinson cultivate cafls first place winner

December 2022

  • 1st Place, Hinson Family Farms

    $2,000 - Agricultural Sciences

    Hinson Family Farms: bridging the education gap between consumers and agriculture

  • 2nd Place, Voney

    $1,500 - Food, Nutrition and Packaging Science

    Voney: Vegan honey made from apple pomace and other natural ingredients

  • 3rd Place, Upgrain

    $1,000 - Food, Nutrition and Packaging Science

    Upgrain: a high-protein meal bar made from upcycled barley derived during the beer brewing process

  • Audience Favorite, Recheesable

    $500 - Food, Nutrition and Packaging Science

    Recheesable: an easy-to-use resealable package for block cheese

March 2022

  • 1st Place, Blooms & Buds

    Blooms and Buds

    Team Members
    Mark Burns, Horticulture
    Abigail Gibson, Ag Business
    Weston Whitfield, Packaging Science

    The floriculture industry has been a thriving segment of agribusiness across the globe with the advent of Floral Shops and services at the beginning of the industrial age in the late 1800s. A recent study by the Greenhouse Industry indicates that Gen Y consumers are significantly less likely to have a high appreciation of flowers, give flowers as gifts, and differentiate florists from other gift retailers and/or purchase mixed flowers. This data suggests that for floral businesses to expand their market share to younger populations, an effort to market flower purchases have meaning beyond the plant purchase is a possible method to attract younger consumers to become loyal floral customers. This project will explore a marketing approach that capitalizes on the concept of a sustainable and environmental beneficial plant and package to entice young consumers to give sustainable blooms and buds. This will be done in the production process of flowers and sustainable recyclable packaging to ship or share the flower purchase.

  • 2nd Place, Biopack Kudzu Plastic

    Biopack Kudzu Plastic

    Team Members
    Sneh Bangar, Food, Nutrition & Packaging Sciences
    Cayden Gates Food, Nutrition & Packaging Sciences

    In the past few decades, the production and application of plastic have escalated due to wide availability, cost-effectiveness, and excellent mechanical properties. However, plastic waste is low biodegradable and significantly contributes to environment pollution. Due to the highest consumption of plastic, packaging industries have become the primary source of plastic waste accumulation at an alarming rate. Therefore, there is an urgency to introduce environment-friendly packaging materials that are durable and cost-effective.

    Natural polymers have been explored as potential alternatives to conventional packaging material. Among biopolymers, starch stands out as the future green biopolymer because of its abundant availability, renewability, eco-friendliness, and degree of functionality. However, poor processibility, restricted tensile strength, and high-water absorption capacity of starch films limit their practical applications. Recent research has shown that chemical modifications of starch and reinforcement with other polymers can improve the mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties of starch films. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) extracted from plant tissues have shown promise to improve properties of natural polymers by improving crystallinity, mechanical strength, surface area, and active binding sites.

    Kudzu is an invasive weed which has aggressively invaded over three million hectares in US. Kudzu is extremely bad for the ecosystems and infrastructure, including shading out native vegetation, altering soil chemistry, decreasing native biodiversity, and destroying power lines/ structures. It would be beneficial if kudzu is utilized to extract CNCs to reinforce starch-based films.

    Therefore, developing starch-based films ovide commercial use of invasive weed but also offer a sustainable option for packaging industry.

  • 3rd Place, Kerby's Kritters

    Kerby’s Kritters

    Team Member
    Animal and Veterinary Sciences with a concentration in Agribusiness

    I plan to advance my entrepreneurial project Kerby's Kritters. Kerby's Kritters is a pet boarding, grooming, and daycare service that will be located in South Carolina. We will specialize in dogs but welcome other household pets to board when owners are away on vacation. Daycare services will be offered on weekdays for dogs to socialize and exercise while owners are working or running errands. The dogs will be allowed to play in groups to enhance their social skills and playtime activities. We will offer grooming services with a certified groomer and boarding all year long for a variety of household pets. When boarding, there will be a variety of addons that owners can purchase to make each pet's stay memorable and enjoyable. There will also be a small store upfront with pet essentials and cute gifts for sale. Overall, I want to create a fun and safe experience for pets at a country styled kennel run by passionate and experienced staff. Kerby's Kritters will give pets time to socialize and exercise while at daycare and boarding, a secure and comfortable area at night, and beautifying makeovers in grooming.

CAFLS Advantage
CAFLS Advantage | 101 Barre Hall Clemson, SC 29634 864-656-3013