Monmouth students turn to allergy-free snack

• Monmouth University students introduce Hawk Country, an allergy-free snack bar.
• The class of 35 took the product from an idea to the final version in 15 weeks.
• A labor of passion, they are trying to make money by serving a social need.

WEST LONG BRANCH – At the beginning of the semester, the entrepreneurship class at Monmouth University kicked around ideas for their student project, when Brittany Lamb spoke up.

She said her 13-year-old cousin, Brennan Orsucci, scared the daylights out of his family earlier in the year after he bit into a mislabeled candy bar, developed an allergic reaction and landed in the hospital. She suggested making a bar that was free of allergens. Her classmates were on board.

"You don't find many businesses that mix empathy and passion," Lamb, from Middletown, said.

Lamb was one of 35 Monmouth University students who made Hawk Country, a snack bar for people with food allergies. They shepherded the bar from the idea to production in 15 weeks. And they plan to sell them for $2 each.

During the kick-off event in December, though, it looked like something more was going on. After all, these students came of age during the Great Recession. They saw their parents lose jobs. And they decided they would set their own course.

Moreover, they believe that if their product can serve a social good, then profits will follow.

It didn't surprise Lisa Cronin, who attended the event. The Holmdel resident has two children, Samantha, 16, and Hunter, 12, who have food allergies, and she has volunteered with Food Allergy Research & Education, an advocacy group. She spoke to the class at the beginning of the semester about the difficulty she faces simply finding food the family can eat.

"When I met with them, based on their questions, I thought, 'They can do this,'" Cronin said. "They're just young, bright, they have a lot of energy."

John Buzza, a professor who teaches entrepreneurship, puts the students in a real-world setting. One year, they developed a perfume. Another, it was pasta sauce. This year's class considered creating a shuttle service that would take students to Atlantic City, but ultimately shifted gears.

Students broke into groups - research and development; information technology; sales and marketing; and production. They met twice a week for an hour and 15 minutes at a time.

They raised $2,000 at a walk-a-thon; they searched far and wide for a laboratory that was compliant with Food and Drug Administration rules before finding EMSL in Cinnaminson; they changed the ingredients after the initial product tasted lousy; and they worked around busy schedules that included other classes and jobs.

The end result, though, is promising enough that four of them - Lamb, Albert DiBenedetto, 22, of Middletown, Andrew Nastashkin, 21, of Manalapan, and Devin Hope, 23, of Howell - plan to turn it into a full-time job.

They said the prospect of working together is appealing. They are part of a generation that witnessed the worst economic hardship since the Great Depression. They have taken note of giant corporations downsizing in the name of efficiency. And they have watched their predecessors, burdened by student loans, graduate with few options.

At the kick-off event, they sounded like they are on a mission. They said they would make a quality product, refusing to cut corners and always keeping their customers' health in mind. And they noted they turned down an investor who suggested making the product in China.

They may come to regret that decision. But they didn't have time to dwell on it for long.

"If we have the passion and dedication, the money will follow," DiBenedetto said.

Michael L. Diamond; 732-643-4038; mdiamond@app.com