Food
The Food and Drink Manufacturing sector is the largest manufacturing sector in the UK. In terms of economic contribution, it accounts for 17% of all UK manufacturing GVA (£28.2 billion).
The Food and Drink Manufacturing sector is the largest manufacturing sector in the UK. In terms of economic contribution, it accounts for 17% of all UK manufacturing GVA (£28.2 billion). It comprises just over 6,800 businesses and employs nearly 400,000 people. Innovation is key to the Food & Drink Manufacturing sector. Key areas are nutrition, shelf life, packaging, healthy eating, minimal processing, food safety and waste minimisation.
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Related Opportunities
Full ADOPT Grant Round 6
Opens: 05/02/2026 Closes: 08/04/2026
Farming, growing or forestry businesses based in England can apply for a share of up to £5 million for on-farm trial and demonstration projects, to improve adoption of new ideas or solutions in the agricultural sector.
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ADOPT Facilitator Support Grant: Round 7
Opens: 26/02/2026 Closes: 08/04/2026
Farming, growing or forestry businesses based in England can apply for a grant of £2,500 to engage an external Project Facilitator to support the development of a Full ADOPT Grant application.
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Horizon Europe 2026-27: Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment (Cluster 6)
Various closing dates from Apr 2026 to Sep 2027
Topics available under Horizon Europe's Cluster 6 programme for 2025/26, with up to €38m available for the largest single projects
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Advanced manufacturing supply chain innovation: feasibility studies
Opens: 02/02/2026 Closes: 11/03/2026
Up to £100k per project for feasibility studies to make supply chains more resource efficient and resilient through addressing cross cutting challenges.
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Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP): 2026 – 2027 Round 1
Opens: 02/02/2026 Closes: 01/04/2026
UK registered academic institutions, RTOs or Catapults can apply for a share of up to £10 million to fund innovation projects with businesses.
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European Space Agency: Call For Proposals - Responsible Fishing
First stage application required by 7 April 2026
ESA seeks space-based solutions to improve monitoring, safety and sustainability of the fishing industry.
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Related Events and Recordings
Related News
22/08/2024
Accelerator drives AgriFood innovators forward
The Innovate UK AgriFood Accelerator provided training and mentorship to increase the diversity of Innovate UK grant funding applications within the AgriFood sector and support participants in developing their businesses.
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13/08/2025
Trilateral partnerships to drive innovation in climate-smart agriculture
Innovate UK has awarded funding to 30 projects promoting climate-smart agriculture for sustainable food production systems. The projects are all collaborations between the UK, Brazil and Ghana or Nigeria.