ASHS DaDA wins First Place in nationwide ACTS sustainability case competition

Team ASHS DaDA, composed of Ateneo de Manila Senior High School students Keefe Brigado (12-Solinas), Yohan David (12-Kibe), Faye Alas (12-Bobola), Marie Ruiz (12-Gonzalez), and Jacob Kokseng Jr. (12-Solinas), clinched first place in the Ateneo Challenge for Transformational Sustainability (ACTS), the premier nationwide corporate sustainability case competition organized by the Ateneo Management Engineering Association and co-sponsored by Nestlé Careers. As grand champions, they were awarded a ₱35,000 cash prize.

ACTS was concluded on 15 November 2025 at Ateneo de Manila University's John Gokongwei School of Management (JGSOM) Building in Loyola Heights, Quezon City, with the awards ceremony held at Leong Hall.  

The competition, which began in late September 2025, consisted of three rounds of case studies. In the first round, participating teams worked on a general case study featuring the Nestlé Choose Good Campaign.

From the 77 teams that joined the preliminaries, only 25 papers advanced to the second round. The top 25 teams were assigned different Nestlé brands and tasked to develop a more focused paper and video presentation. They also participated in a mixer with Nestlé mentors, who provided valuable feedback on their submissions.

Only 10 teams progressed to the finals, where they were given additional data packs and prompts to further refine their case studies. Remarkably, ASHS DaDA was the sole senior high school group among the predominantly college-level finalists.

The final event on 15 November 2025 featured live presentations before Nestlé brand executives. ASHS DaDA presented “Koko-nnected: When Breakfast Choices Build a Better World,” a data-driven pitch designed to strengthen the Koko Krunch brand through sustainability, nutrition education, and digital innovation. Their presentation included an assessment of Nestlé’s #ChooseGood campaigns, identifying key consumer barriers such as “rice bias,” perceptions of low nutrition, and socioeconomic differences in breakfast habits.

Their winning solution featured two main components:

For Kids — “Koko Krunch Tycoon”
A Roblox/mobile game with a Grow→Craft→Deliver loop, QR codes on cereal boxes for in-game rewards, and weekly sustainability quests that build positive nutrition habits.

For Parents — a Three-Part Awareness Strategy

• A “Breakfast Audit” series led by nutritionists
• Clearer product packaging using nutrient-function claims (e.g., iron for cognitive development)
• Digital nutrition education through videos and parent content creators

This holistic approach combined excitement for children with credibility for parents, demonstrating how daily breakfast choices can contribute to a healthier, more sustainable future.

Despite being the youngest competitors, ASHS DaDA emerged as grand champions, impressing judges and Nestlé executives with their innovative recommendations and compelling final pitch.

Congratulations, Ateneans!