A collaboration aimed at making it easier for food and drink companies in the UK to adopt cutting edge technology that could improve productivity and grow their business has been launched this week.
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has brought together a range of specialists to create the Food and Drink Innovation Gateway, an online tool that will match firms in the sector with the expertise to support them with their technical challenges. The partnership aims to provide insights into the technological needs of the industry, helping improve and better target the support available.
UK food and drink manufacturers have a reputation as global leaders in innovation – in 2020, the sector’s procurement of robots increased by more than a third on 2019 and nearly £800m was invested in research and development and software. But FDF highlighted that rising costs, labour shortages and stretched supply chains are putting increased pressures on businesses seeking to make longer-term investments.
Utilising existing and new technologies is seen as vital for food and drink businesses to overcome these challenges and to increase productivity, reduce waste and improve sustainability.
Experts in the world of research and higher education, from the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) to the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) to the University of Lincoln will support the drive to enable businesses to better understand the opportunities that innovation can deliver, while helping to de-risk investments and implement the technology.
Commenting on the new Innovation Gateway, the FDF’s Chief Executive Karen Betts said: “It will offer practical support to food and drink companies across the UK to help them to harness the opportunities that technology can offer. By investing in digital capability, food and drink businesses will be able to improve the productivity and sustainability of our companies and our supply chain – critical investments both in future growth and in the resilience of our industry.”
Steve Barton, Strategic Project Director at the ABF Grocery Group and Chair of the FDF’s Technology Forum, added: “The Innovation Gateway makes it easy to quickly identify the best automation and technology solutions. This is increasingly important as we manage decarbonisation, rising energy costs and commodity price volatility. Completing one online form connects food businesses to an independent specialist to help find the right partner to step-change their productivity and efficiency.
“It may sound like a simple concept, but the Innovation Gateway has been complex to bring together and I applaud the work of the FDF and the commitment of the UK innovation sector for their support for the UK food industry.”
NAM Implications:
- Every little helps…
- Especially given the potential turmoil of Russia-Ukraine in the pipeline.
- (Those in doubt, please Google Russia & Ukraine share of Global grain and fertiliser production…
- …and what happens to global food yields when farmers cut down on fertiliser usage)
- Food and drink suppliers need all the innovation they can get…
- …yesterday!
