Food and Drink TechHUB
Helping food and drink producers and supply chain businesses in the Highland Council area with access to expert advice, funding, events and networking opportunities.
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Food and Drink TechHUB Business Support Service is a fully funded programme of activity designed to help food and drink producers and supply chain businesses in the Highland Council area grow and reach their potential.
The project provides a rolling programme of events, activities and bespoke support designed to help food and drink producers and supply chain enterprises to develop new products and markets, improve productivity and create efficiencies within the business.
By engaging in the network, you will receive information and invitations to take part in a range of activity, including:
The networking programme will provide you with:
Support is open to food and drink or supply chain businesses operating in The Highland Council area that are small to medium sized enterprises.
Businesses located in the wider HIE region can attend webinars and other online events.
Applicants must comply with HIE’s fair work conditionality. For more information, please visit our Fair Work page.
The time commitment is on a case-by-case basis depending on the level of support received.
Networking and events require registration. Events are normally between 2-4 hours in length.
One to One Support: You will be offered a 30-minute triage call to find out more about:
This will allow SAC Consulting to develop a dedicated support plan for each business. The call will also offer a signposting service where the project team can make specific introductions to people and projects in the private, academic and public sector that can help the business and develop collaborative opportunities.
Common Interest Groups: These groups meet regularly and supported by a facilitator who will coordinate meetings and action plans.
You will also be required to complete a feedback form and equalities survey.
There is no cost to this service, however clients accessing one-to-one support will receive notification of the monetary value of the support at the end of the period of engagement. This may impact on maximum State Subsidy thresholds.
How do I apply?
Please complete our Food and Drink TechHUB enquiry form, providing as much information as possible.
You will hear about the outcome of your enquiry within seven working and if your application is successful, and if appropriate you will be allocated a Development Manager who will guide you through your stage two application. A referral will be made to SAC Consulting who will follow up with you.
This programme is available on a rolling basis until February 2026.
Please complete our enquiry form to apply.
Explore our other Food and Drink TechHUB support programmes.
Helping food and drink producers and supply chain businesses in the Highland Council area with access to expert advice, funding, events and networking opportunities.
This is an intensive 12-month support programme for food and drink businesses based in the Highland council area work towards a net zero action plan.
Our TechHUB Capital grant supports food and drink producers, and those in the supply chain, based in the Highland Council area introduce new technology and data innovation to the workplace.
The Food and Drink TechHUB training grant offers organisations up to £3,000 towards upskilling your workforce in the use of new technologies and data driven innovation.
The Food and Drink TechHUB offers specialist advice to food and drink organisations who are looking to implement new technology to improve their productivity and/or reduce their carbon emissions.
The Food and Drink TechHUB (formally the Highland Food and Drink Innovation Network) is delivered through the Northern Innovation Hub, a funding programme designed to build on and accelerate business innovation.
The Northern Innovation Hub was awarded £11m from the UK Government as part of the Inverness and Highland City-Region Deal. The deal is a joint initiative supported by £315m investment from the UK and Scottish governments, Highland Council, HIE and the University of the Highlands and Islands. This programme also receives financial support through the European Regional Development Fund Scotland Programme.
Explore all business support delivered through the Northern Innovation Hub.