Collaboration is key to R&D challenge

The food industry is consistently being challenged to respond to the demands of feeding an ever-increasing global population. To do this effectively requires constant research and development. Whether working to extend shelf life, streamlining production and packaging processes, cutting waste or meeting stringent health and safety requirements, R&D has a huge role to play in guaranteeing sustainable and quality food supplies.

But with our departure from the EU approaching, UK food manufacturing will need to consider how to establish a leadership position post-March 2019.

There was a glimmer of hope in the Autumn Budget when the Chancellor announced a welcome boost to R&D spending – 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2027. All well and good for the sectors set to benefit. But, according to the first phase of the Sector Deals published in the Industrial Strategy White Paper, the food sector has not made the cut.

So with government focus elsewhere, the industry must step forward to ensure it’s both resilient to the impact of Brexit but also well placed to take advantage of any resulting opportunities.

This will require a bespoke, regionalised approach to R&D, with a firm focus on collaboration and partnership. It is only by working together that we will ensure funding is designated to UK-specific research and – critically – that new innovations are closely aligned with real commercial need.

Forging strong links between industry sectors and across supply chains will be key, enabling expertise and risk to be shared. We must also campaign for appropriate government support and build a voice that helps legislators to make informed decisions. The platform to enable this is already there through the British Chambers of Commerce and in recent months our business has witnessed some great examples of how this can work very effectively.

The food industry will undoubtedly continue to innovate and advance as it looks to tackle the challenges that 21st century living throws at it. The UK has a significant role to play in this and there is a wealth of opportunity for us to lead and innovate on a global stage, but we must act now to ensure our R&D capability is in place and ready to deliver.