Creative industries are diverse and fast-growing, making an important contribution to our region.
Creative industries
Food and Drink
Our region is renowned as Scotland's outstanding natural larder.
food and drink in our region
Food and drink businesses from the region produce a wide range of high-quality products, which have a strong competitive advantage associated to place, people and provenance.
The sector has strong ambitions for growth, and we are committed to working in collaboration with industry and the public sector in the Scotland Food and Drink Partnership to realise the ambitions set out in the national food and drink strategy ‘Ambition 2030’.
Today, the industry in Scotland is worth £14bn and the strategy aims to double the value of the industry to £30bn by 2030, driving growth via innovation, integrating supply chains, investing in people and skills, and focusing on market growth opportunities domestically and internationally.
Working with ambitious and capable businesses, we offer both one-to-one and sector-wide support to create new opportunities and tackle challenges to growth.
Scotland Food and Drink
Scotland Food and Drink nurtures, supports and champions the people and products of Scotland’s food and drink industry to help deliver continued and growing success.
Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Awards
These awards are held annually to showcase and celebrate excellence and achievement in the food and drink industry across the region. Click below for more information on the awards.
Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Awards website
Supporting food and drink businesses to innovate and grow
Make Innovation Happen is an ambitious service created to support food and drink businesses to innovate.
Innovation is important to Scotland’s economy. To make innovation effective for Scottish businesses, Scotland Food & Drink, Scottish Enterprise and HIE brought together representatives from across industry, academia and the public sector. The group worked in partnership to develop the new Make Innovation Happen service.
Innovation in farming, fishing, food and drink is vital to empower Scotland’s food and drink businesses to respond to today’s consumer and market needs and to adapt to future challenges and opportunities.
Research shows that when a company innovates, they are twice as likely to grow and three times more likely to export successfully. Many companies are already making good use of the world-class research base on their doorstep.
Food and Drink Collaborative Innovation Fund
As part of the Make Innovation Happen initiative, we're working with Scottish Enterprise on this Scotland-wide fund. It is designed to support you to innovate your products, processes or business models.
Find out more and apply
Isle of Harris Distillers
The first legal distillery in Harris produces multi-award winning gin
Meatsnacks
The Meatsnacks Group is the largest producer of jerky and biltong in Europe
Sectors
Find out more about some of our other growth sectors.
