This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
University of Utah students Kaitlin Jacobs, McCall Lewis and Kristine Taylor took first place in a statewide contest to develop a marketing plan for a line of hand-poured lollipops.
The students, who are working toward their master's of business administration degrees, won $5,000. Their marketing plan will be implemented by Alpine-based Kencraft Candy, the company that makes lollipops sold under the name Lollipals.
Thirty teams of Utah college students from the U. of U., Brigham Young University, Utah State University and Westminster College took part in the "Launch the Lollipop" competition that was sponsored by Dolphin Capital, a private equity firm and parent company of Kencraft.
Love Communications, a Salt Lake City-based marketing and advertising agency, also sponsored the competition, which offered $10,000 in cash prizes.
"We saw exceptional creativity and thinking from the teams and had great support from the four participating institutions of higher education," Dolphin Capital's Jill Krishnamurthy said in announcing the winners.
She said the competition demonstrated what Utah's students have to offer in the marketplace.
A team of USU MBA students — Clint Hugie, Melinda Taylor and Charles Major — came in second and received $2,500. BYU marketing undergraduate students Maren Bennett, Taylor Jensen, Mary Lyman, Sarah Mabey and Nathan Parker took third and received $1,000.
Additionally, three teams were awarded honorable mention and received $500 each.