The company said it was driven to innovate and remove milk from doner kebabs and chicken shawarma after becoming aware that a large number of customers had a food intolerance. Milk has traditionally been used in the making of kebabs as a binding, flavouring and texturising agent, as well as a colourant.
It was one the innovation projects undertaken by the Essex-based company that qualified it for £372,422 in research and development (R&D) tax relief — the government tax incentive that rewards innovation.
Kismet kebabs had to contact every supplier of every ingredient they used to find out whether they contained lactose, and then begin to experiment with alternatives.
Early issues
Early issues encountered by production and NPD manager Eduarto Latiffi and his team included new recipes sticking to parts of the machinery, becoming too dry or disintegrating. He said that final trials involving a particular type of soya that could compensate for the lack of milk eventually proved successful.
Another R&D project involved altering recipes so the use of phosphates could be avoided and adjusting the temperature of ingredients to reduce wear on mincing machines.
“We missed out on significant sums in the past because we just had no idea R&D tax relief existed. Second to that, we didn’t really understand quite how much R&D we were implementing. Receiving this kind of government recognition and support is transforming the company because the sums involved are so significant,” said Amird Devadasan, chief executive of Kismet Kebabs.
“All of it is returned to develop the business further. Product innovation is no longer something we do occasionally when customers show interest in products we don’t have. In a world where every other person has a dietary need of some kind, we’re trying to predict how the industry will have to adapt in the future and get ahead of these changes to maintain our competitive advantage. Currently we have commissioned the first like-for-like protein based vegan doner kebab, which is our next venture on claiming R&D funds.”
International success
Sarah Hinchley, key account manager at innovation funding specialist Catax, said: “Kismet’s innovations are helping to make the company an international success story, exporting to Spain, Cyprus, Scandinavia and around the world. This wouldn’t be possible were they not producing the kinds of recipes that are capable of opening up new markets and satisfying changing consumer trends.
“They weren’t sure they’d qualify for R&D tax relief and were shocked to learn how much qualifying work they were actually doing, and that’s something we encounter all the time.”
