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FDF Scotland launches £50k fund to support reformulation

29-Jan-2024 - Last updated on 29-Jan-2024 at 11:20 GMT

Funding will soon be available for Scottish manufacturers looking to reformulate their products

Scottish food and drink manufacturers can soon benefit from a £50k fund to help them to make their food healthier and kickstart their reformulation journeys.

Launched by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Scotland, the Reformul8 Challenge Fund is open to small- and medium-sized food and drink firms, with £5,000 available to each successful business.

This fourth round of funding can be used for a wide range of activities, from accessing nutritional testing and technical support, to working with ingredient suppliers to source and trial solutions to improve the health of products and improve production capacity.

Public health targets

Joanne Burns, Reformulation for Health Manager, FDF Scotland, said: “I am delighted to be able to support more Scottish food and drink manufacturers with the fourth round of the Reformul8 Challenge Fund. Creating a wider range of healthier products can help food businesses to meet growing consumer demand for healthier options and to achieve public health targets.

“The fund is a great way to help businesses kick start their reformulation journey. Along with bespoke help and guidance from the Reformulation for Health team we can help you get those products to shelf – improving the health of Scotland’s people one product at a time.”

As of the launch of this fourth round of funding, 48 businesses have been supported in their reformulation journeys. This included the likes of Bells Food Group, Simon Howie, We Hae Meat, Border Biscuits, Dean’s of Huntly, Arran Dairies, Stratham Foods, JG Ross and Cobbs Bakery.

Reformulation progress

Bells Food Group in particular used their share of the fund to reduce the salt in their pie shells by 50%, while Tower Bakery almost doubled the fibre content in some of their bread rolls to meet the Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations.

The winners will be announced at a free showcase event – Celebrating Reformulation and Innovation for Health – hosted by FDF Scotland and Interface at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh on 26 February 2024.

Meanwhile, London-based business The Coconut Collab has closed its Series B funding round after securing £1.5m in investment.