Dawn Foods has appointed two student ambassadors for 2020 as part of its ongoing partnership with University College Birmingham (UCB).

Marko Josipovic and Vaishnavi Vora are both second-year students on UCB’s Bakery and Patisserie degree course.

Josipovic is a self-proclaimed doughnut enthusiast and keen food photographer, who posts pictures of his baking creations on his Instagram feed @Marko_bakes.

“I started baking when I was nine years old. My mum had a sweet tooth and she’d make a simple chocolate cake almost every weekend. It looked easy, so I wanted to learn, and soon I started making more complicated things and experimenting in the kitchen,” said Josipovic.

He is interested in a career encompassing food styling, blogging and photography.

“I enjoy making different patisserie products, particularly working with chocolate. Enriched breads like cinnamon rolls are my favourite.”

Vora has a passion for new product development and creating new ideas for commercial production.

“My mother used to bake cakes at home for my brother and I and she always asked me to help. This slowly became my hobby and later my passion,” said Vora.

She was interested in a career combining bakery, science and technology, such as a new product development technologist in a large-scale manufacturing company. This led to her decision to travel from her home in India to the UK to pursue the degree.

“I am passionate about cake decorating and love making cakes for family and friends, but professionally I am in awe of the technology used in big companies and product trials.”

Both ambassadors will be working on developing new ideas around seasonal trends, with a focus on bakery application for vegan and gluten-free diets.

“The Dawn Foods student ambassador programme has been running for several years now and is a great two-way process – students get insight and work experience within a global bakery manufacturer and we benefit hugely from their insight into the latest trends in bakery,” explained Jacqui Passmore, marketing manager UK and Ireland at Dawn Foods.

Robin Loud, Dawn’s application chef, will help them to create new recipes that will be available on Dawn’s website, as well as social media channels. The ambassadors will also be sharing blog posts, pictures, ideas, tips and trends on social media.

“New product development – Vaishnavi’s area of interest – is key for every forward-thinking bakery, so we are looking forward to working with her to develop new ideas,” added Passmore. “Marko’s passion for social media is really exciting too – he has a great eye for brand-building, and this will help support our marketing activity. Both will bring ideas and insights from the perspective of next-generation bakers.”

Dawn Foods student ambassador Marko Josipovic