The Broadland Food Innovation Centre is an £11.4m ERDF funded project which makes up part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.
Supported through a £4.14m investment by the New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (NALEP), the project is being delivered by Broadland District Council, Hethel Innovation, and the University of East Anglia.
The project has been designed to provide food and drink SMEs and it’s supporting sectors with the opportunity to grow, test new food items, and develop local supply chains.
Funded support is available today, closing in June 2023, with the centre scheduled for completion in Q3 of 2022.
UEA is leading on the development of an exciting new Food and Drink Innovation Cluster for Norfolk and Suffolk.
Contact us if you're interested in becoming part of the Broadland Food Innovation Centre project.
Follow us on X (formerly known as Twitter)
Connect with us on LinkedIn
FAQs
-
The Innovation Support delivered through the BFIC project can be accessed by businesses and individuals who meet the following criteria:
-
Registered in Norfolk or Suffolk or looking to create economic impact in New Anglia (Norfolk and Suffolk).
-
Meet the EU definition of an SME:
- <250 employees
- <€50m Turnover
- €43m Balance Sheet (value of assets). -
Contain a SIC code of 10110 to 11070
- Businesses that support the F&D processing sector are also eligible e.g., food packaging, logistics, branding etc. -
Have received <€200,000 of De Minimis support in the last three years.
Ultimately, The Food Innovation Cluster aims to maximise economic growth of the food and drink sector within the region of Norfolk and Suffolk. To achieve this, the cluster bridges a network of organisations to work together, including technical experts and scientists from the region's leading universities and Research Institutes. This allows knowledge transfers to take place between organisations, such as solutions to problems a local business is experiencing.
It is completely free to sign up and gain full access to the innovation support.
For more information, contact:
- Jordan Sharman (Project Manager)
- Nick Smith (Food Advisor)
- Alex Larter (Cluster Manager)
- 1:1 workshops and support
- Member workshops and round tables
- Networking events and trade directory
- Promotion of case studies
- R&D collaborations with academics – facilitated through the cluster through to bid submissions
- Access training and professional development courses
- Ongoing support with project delivery
- Space to promote your business at tour trade events
- Funding mapping bitesize guide to available funds and grants
We do provide innovation support to individuals that want to develop a business idea they have not yet established. Please get in touch with us to find out more about how we can support your business aspiration to become a reality.
To be eligible to for the programme, your business must either already be registered in Norfolk or Suffolk, or you are looking to create economic impact within this region.
- Market and consumer trends
- New Product Development;
- Strategy and business plan formulation;
- Packaging and shelf-life analysis.
The Food Innovation Centre is currently under construction and will be completed by this summer in 2022. The centre will be situated off the A47 on the Food Enterprise Park, already home to Condimentum.
