Japan Soy Milk Association Holds "13th Soy Milk Recipe Koshien", Japan's Largest Recipe Contest for High School Students Nationwide

The Japan Soy Milk Association (Secretariat: Chiyoda-ku, Kanda-Jimbocho, Tokyo; Chairman: Koichi Yamazaki, President & CEO, Kikkoman Soy Foods Co., Ltd.; Secretary General: Toru Abe, hereinafter referred to as "Soy Milk Association") is holding the "13th Soy Milk Recipe Koshien," a recipe contest using soy milk for high school students nationwide. Applications will be accepted from June 12th to September 11th (must arrive by).

The "Soy Milk Recipe Koshien," organized by the Soy Milk Association, is an annual recipe contest aimed at widely communicating the importance of plant-based protein intake for meals and health, and promoting food education. This year marks its 13th iteration. It is held for high school students nationwide and boasts one of the largest scales for a high school recipe contest, receiving over 2,000 applications annually. Meanwhile, the food environment has been changing significantly in recent years, with diversifying values sought in "food," including rising health consciousness, interest in nutritional components, utilization of local ingredients, and awareness of nutritional balance in school lunches. Against this backdrop, the Soy Milk Association is revamping the contest's division structure to further develop the competition and promote new value for soy milk. This aims to refresh the contest to be more accessible for a wider range of high school students to participate and showcase their creativity.

This year, based on the Soy Milk Association's theme "Soy Milk Life: Anytime, Anywhere, For Anyone," applications will be accepted in four new divisions: "Regional Delights," "School Lunch," "Everyday Soy Milk Meals," and "Soy Milk Sweets & Ideas."

The "Regional Delights" division focuses on regional ingredients, food culture, and local cuisine. With themes of promoting local consumption, preserving food culture, and showcasing regional attractions, the division seeks entries that combine local ingredients with soy milk or feature modern interpretations of traditional local dishes, utilizing unique regional characteristics.

The "School Lunch" division is for high school students to propose school lunches for elementary school students. Evaluation criteria include nutritional balance and ease of eating required for growing children, as well as suitability for mass cooking, consideration for allergies, and educational aspects. The division seeks recipes for main dishes, side dishes, and soups using soy milk that can actually be served in school lunch settings.

The "Everyday Soy Milk Meals" division targets soy milk dishes that can be enjoyed daily at home. Emphasis is placed on deliciousness that makes people want to eat it every day, along with practical considerations for daily life such as time-saving preparation, nutritional balance, and vegetable utilization. The division seeks easy and practical recipes for breakfast menus, family side dishes, and one-plate meals.

The "Soy Milk Sweets & Ideas" division is for high school students to showcase their free and innovative ideas. It seeks entries that propose new possibilities for soy milk, including not only sweets and drinks made with soy milk but also novel ways of eating, new combinations, and menu items with high topicality.

Through these four divisions, the Soy Milk Association aims to communicate the appeal of soy milk from different perspectives of "Region," "Education," "Daily Life," and "Creativity," and widely solicit recipes full of ideas unique to high school students. In each division, one "Grand Prize" winner and two "Excellence Award" winners will be selected, totaling 12 awardees. Schools that submit a large number of excellent entries will also receive "Grand School Awards" and "Excellence School Awards." Award recipients will receive certificates of commendation and sets of soy milk products from member companies of the Soy Milk Association (the Grand Prize winner will receive a year's supply of soy milk). Additionally, "Member Company Awards" will be presented by each member company of the Soy Milk Association. Furthermore, award-winning soy milk recipes from this contest will be utilized in soy milk promotion activities from October 2026 onwards, as promoted by the Soy Milk Association. Schools with group applications of 10 or more students will be provided with 1 liter of unadjusted soy milk per person in advance.

Applications will be accepted from June 12th to September 11th. At the end of September, recipes selected for the final round will be prepared and judged by culinary researchers, with the awards announced on "Soy Milk Day," October 12th.

Detailed application guidelines can be downloaded from the link below.

Outline of the 13th Soy Milk Recipe Koshien

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The Japan Soy Milk Association engages in various awareness activities with the primary goal of promoting soy milk and soy milk products. Since its establishment on September 1, 1979, soy milk manufacturers have become members, fostering camaraderie and information exchange among manufacturers, as well as cooperation with other organizations and associations. The association's mission is to contribute to the sound growth and development of the industry through research on the manufacturing, processing, quality, and distribution of soy milk products, while daily promoting soy milk and educating about its expected effects and benefits. The association designates October 12th as "Soy Milk Day" and June 12th as "Healthy Soy Latte Day," with the entire industry uniting to carry out various activities for the promotion of soy milk.