News

04 Dec 2017

Share of £50,000 on offer for small food and drink businesses

A share of £50,000 has been put up for grabs for small food and drink business innovators.

The scheme was launched by Defra at the end of November as part of its Food Innovation Network (FIN) and is offering 10 £5,000 vouchers – with matching funding from the industry – to be won through a ‘dragons den’ style project.

To be in with a chance of winning, Defra minister George Eustice said applicants must demonstrate their ideas are ‘novel, achievable and support business growth’.

He said, “Our thriving food and drink industry needs to be innovative in order to be resilient and globally competitive.

“Some of our most innovative food businesses are smaller companies and each has unique challenges, from prolonging the shelf life of their products to developing new sources of protein.

“This new fund is aimed at helping support small businesses with a bright idea to develop their concepts in partnership with researchers or academic institutions.”

The project comes in an attempt to keep Britain on top of global demand for food which is projected to grow 60 per cent by 2050.

Those wishing to apply must submit an initial two-minute video pitch and a short description setting out their innovative business opportunity.

All ideas will need to demonstrate:

• The need for research and development

• Innovation in the proposed solution

• A path to commercial application(s)

• Nature of market opportunity

• Value for money

The deadline to apply for a FIN Innovation Voucher is 12 January 2018. To find out more, and apply, visit their website here.

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