Team GreenMayo Wins Top Prize at the FAO-HNB World Food Day Youth Innovation Challenge 2026 for Plant-Based OKRANAISE

Team GreenMayo Wins Top Prize at the FAO-HNB World Food Day Youth Innovation Challenge 2026 for Plant-Based OKRANAISE

AI-generated illustration for editorial purposes. It is not a documentary photograph, and no authentic photograph of the winning team was embedded.

Team GreenMayo has won first place at Sri Lanka’s World Food Day Youth Innovation Challenge 2026 for OKRANAISE, a plant-based mayonnaise. The award recognised an emerging food product developed by young innovators and highlighted the potential for students to apply creativity and enterprise to practical questions facing the country’s food systems.

The challenge was organised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education and Hatton National Bank PLC (HNB). Under the theme “Innovate Today – Nourish Tomorrow”, it provided young people across Sri Lanka with a platform to develop ideas addressing challenges in agriculture, fisheries, food systems, nutrition and climate resilience.

The initiative attracted more than 200 registrations and over 100 submissions from 51 state and non-state universities and higher education institutions. Following a multi-stage evaluation process, 12 teams were selected to develop their ideas into prototypes, with access to expert guidance, mentorship and support. The finalists then presented their solutions to a panel of evaluators as part of the World Food Day 2026 celebration.

From an idea to a food product

Team GreenMayo’s first-place entry, OKRANAISE, was identified as a plant-based mayonnaise. The available reports do not provide details about the team members, their institutional affiliations, the recipe or the product’s nutritional composition, so these details cannot be confirmed here.

The significance of the award lies in the way an everyday food category has become a starting point for innovation. Plant-based products can offer consumers additional choices, while new food concepts may prompt questions about nutrition, production methods and how local food systems can meet changing needs. The exact contribution of any product depends on its ingredients, formulation, sourcing and production; those specifics were not stated in the reporting on the challenge.

In Sri Lanka, where food security and nutrition are important parts of wider agricultural and economic planning, practical experiments in food production can help young people explore how ideas might address real-world needs. OKRANAISE’s recognition does not, by itself, establish how the product will be manufactured or whether it will reach the market. It does, however, place a student-led food innovation among the challenge’s top entries and draw attention to the role young entrepreneurs can play in developing new approaches.

A national platform for young innovators

The challenge was designed to reach beyond a single award. More than 100 submissions from 51 higher education institutions point to broad interest among young people in applying knowledge and creativity to issues involving agriculture, fisheries, nutrition and resilience. The staged selection process also gave shortlisted teams an opportunity to move beyond initial concepts and work towards prototypes with professional guidance.

This process matters because an idea often requires further testing before it can be turned into a reliable product or service. Mentorship and expert feedback can help innovators assess feasibility, strengthen a prototype and identify what further development may be needed. In the case of food products, that work may involve questions of quality, safety, production and consumer needs, although the reports do not specify which areas were addressed by individual teams.

The programme’s support is also set to continue after the competition. The Top 10 solutions will receive ongoing mentorship and support to improve their prototypes, strengthen their concepts and work towards market readiness. The teams will also have opportunities to engage with potential investors, private-sector partners, technical experts and other stakeholders.

That pathway offers a useful link between education and enterprise. Continued guidance may help promising concepts become more robust, while engagement with industry and investors can give innovators a better understanding of the practical requirements involved in bringing a solution to market. Such engagement is not a guarantee of commercial success, but it can help young teams assess their next steps and connect their work with relevant expertise.

Leaders underline the importance of collaboration

Hon. Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Dr Harini Amarasuriya, said:

> “Sri Lanka is experiencing increasingly complex challenges to its food and agriculture systems, and climate change is making it even more important that we strengthen our resilience and ability to adapt. Our young people have the creativity, knowledge and energy to be part of this transformation. By giving them the space to innovate, test their ideas and connect with the private sector and other partners, we can help turn their solutions into meaningful contributions to the future of our food systems.”

Mr Vimlendra Sharan, FAO Representative for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, said:

> “Innovation is critical to building agrifood systems that can withstand climate shocks and respond to changing needs. What we have seen through this challenge is that Sri Lanka’s young people are already thinking about how technology, science and entrepreneurship can be applied to real challenges in our food systems. Our responsibility is to create the space and partnerships that allow these ideas to develop further.”

Mr Damith Pallewatte, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Hatton National Bank PLC, said:

> “The private sector has an important role to play in helping promising innovations move from ideas and prototypes towards viable solutions. HNB is proud to support an initiative that gives young innovators a platform to address real challenges facing Sri Lanka’s agrifood systems. We see significant potential in creating stronger connections between young innovators, industry and investors.”

Taken together, the remarks reflect the challenge’s central idea: innovation needs both the energy of young people and the support of institutions able to provide guidance, partnerships and practical pathways for development. The organising partners brought together education, technical expertise and private-sector participation, while the competition gave students a structured opportunity to present their work.

World Food Day and the wider food-systems picture

World Food Day is observed annually on 16 October, marking the founding of FAO in 1945. The day raises awareness of hunger, food security and the transformation of agrifood systems, bringing attention to the connections between how food is produced, processed, distributed and consumed.

The 2026 youth challenge formed part of Sri Lanka’s World Food Day celebrations. By inviting students to propose solutions and develop prototypes, it linked that international observance with practical local participation. The Top 12 finalist teams represented a range of ideas, while the Top 10 will now have an opportunity to continue refining their solutions with support beyond the competition.

For Team GreenMayo, first place for OKRANAISE is a notable achievement within this wider effort. Its longer-term prospects will depend on further development and the market-readiness process now ahead. More broadly, the challenge has shown how a well-supported platform can encourage young people to explore food innovation not only as an academic exercise, but as a possible route towards solutions with practical value.

The next stage will be measured not simply by awards, but by how effectively promising ideas can be tested, strengthened and connected with the people and organisations needed to take them further. The mentorship and partnership pathway established through the challenge provides a foundation for that work, and a constructive signal about the contribution Sri Lanka’s young innovators can make to the future of its food systems.

Sources:
Adaderana Biz English: FAO, Ministry of Education and HNB Empower Young Innovators to Build More Resilient Agrifood Systems in Sri Lanka
Hiru News Gold FM: Sri Lanka’s young innovators showcase agrifood solutions at World Food Day 2026 Challenge

This article was written based on the sources https://bizenglish.adaderana.lk/fao-ministry-of-education-and-hnb-empower-young-innovators-to-build-more-resilient-agrifood-systems-in-sri-lanka/ and https://hirunews.lk/goldfmnews/494753/sri-lankas-young-innovators-showcase-agrifood-solutions-at-world-food-day-2026-challenge, kindly email us at info@eLanka.com.au if any information needs to be corrected.

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