Food and Beverage
Qualified Projects
What Qualifies as R&D in Food and Beverage Industry?
New Product Development:
- Developing new or improved food products, beverages, or ingredients.
- Creating healthier or more sustainable food formulations.
- Formulating products to meet specific dietary requirements, such as gluten-free, vegan, or allergen-free options.
Process Improvement:
- Enhancing manufacturing processes to improve efficiency, reduce waste, or increase scalability.
- Developing new preservation methods to extend shelf life without compromising quality.
- Implementing automation or robotics to streamline production.
Quality and Safety Enhancements:
- Innovating packaging solutions to improve food safety, freshness, or sustainability.
- Developing methods to reduce contamination risks or improve sanitation processes.
Sustainability Initiatives:
- Researching ways to reduce the environmental impact of food production, such as water or energy usage.
- Developing sustainable sourcing methods for raw materials.
- Innovating in waste management practices, such as upcycling food waste into new products.
- Development of more sustainable packaging.
Analytical and Testing Methods:
Developing new testing methods to ensure product consistency and quality.
Implementing advanced analytics to understand consumer preferences and trends.
Conducting sensory evaluations to improve taste, texture, and overall product experience.
To qualify for R&D tax credits, these activities must involve overcoming technological or scientific uncertainties, and the outcomes should not be readily deducible by a competent professional in the field. Documentation of the R&D process, including the challenges faced and the solutions developed, is crucial to substantiate claims for tax credits.
Protect Your Claims
Subsidised/ Subcontracted R&D
If you are a contract manufacturer providing white label solutions for brands a when the final deliverable is a product to a client and the R&D work formed part of the contract with your client, it’s likely that this activity will be funded directly or subcontracted by a third party, which would mean the project would have to be treated under the large company scheme (old RDEC scheme). This is a complicated area of the legislation to apply and it has resulted in a number of tribunal cases to test how the rules should be applied.
What we do for you
How We’ll Support You
Our R&D tax team specializes in aquaculture and fishing. We utilise industry experts, PhD engineers, construction manager, ex-HMRC inspectors and a Chartered Accountant to ensure a comprehensive review of your projects. Our services include:
Identifying the appropriate scheme for your business.
Conducting a comprehensive review of your R&D activities to maximise your claim.
Taking the burden of report writing to free up your time.
Preparing a claim that minimises the potential of losing tax benefits if HMRC queries are raised.
Offering unrivalled HMRC dispute resolution headed by one of the UK’s leading R&D Tax compliance expert.
Protect and Prosper
Safeguard Your R&D Tax with InnoFund
01
Analysing previous R&D and benchmarking it against the baseline of your industry
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R&D lifecycle management consulting and R&D road mapping to increase your chances of innovation and the size and security of R&D claims in the future
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Safeguard future R&D relief by strategically reviewing your current operations to maximize benefits under available R&D funding options.
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Visualise the value of a future tax benefit with upcoming R&D projects and allow commercial teams to tender for work more competitively
Complete R&D Solutions
Value Added - Beyond R&D Tax
Food and Beverage firms should explore all R&D incentives, from tax credits and grants for upfront product development work to Research and Development Allowances (RDA) for capital spend on prototype structures. InnoFund can perform the InnoGuard test and identify patents in your products or processes, allowing you to reduce your corporation tax on related revenues through Patent Box for sales or licensing of protected technology, packaging, or formulations.
We also help identify other sources of R&D support and plan your R&D strategy, considering available incentives and grants. Our holistic approach ensures continuous support throughout the business lifecycle, not just during the claim preparation.
