Broadland Food Innovation Centre opens doors for first time
Food and drink businesses were invited for a first look at the completed Broadland Food Innovation Centre on Thursday 22 September.
Councillor Trudy Mancini-Boyle Deputy Leader of Broadland District Council, and project partners welcomed guests at a reception at the Centre, on the Food Enterprise Park near Honingham, to celebrate the culmination of 12 months of collaboration and hard work to complete construction and the beginning of new era of economic opportunity for the regional food sector.
The Broadland Food Innovation Centre is part of a major food innovation project designed to support and fast-track the growth and success of food and drink businesses across Norfolk and Suffolk.
The Centre offers 13 food-grade incubation units, two test kitchens, a sensory kitchen, meeting rooms and state of the art conferencing facilities. In addition, food sector companies already benefit from fully-funded Innovation Support worth up to £250,000 subject to eligibility, and join the free Food Innovation Cluster. Both services are coordinated respectively by Hethel Innovation and the University of East Anglia.
It is backed and funded by a partnership which includes Broadland District Council, Hethel Innovation, University of East Anglia, New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, European Regional Development Fund and HM Government.
Councillor Trudy Mancini-Boyle said:
"This is a tremendous achievement and highlights the work done by Broadland District Council to support local businesses and our local economy. The facilities available here will enable food processing to happen in our district rather than outside of the region. This is not only good for local business, it is also good for the environment.”
Firm commitments have already been made on 2 out of 4 of the large units, with a promising pipeline of serious enquiries.
Chris Starkie, Chief Executive of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, Professor Andrew Fearne of University of East Anglia, Clarke Willis MBE and Trevor Holden, Managing Director of Broadland District Council, also shared their perspectives on expectations for the regional economy, the ongoing food business sector research and the potential for significant growth of food businesses on the Food Enterprise Park.
They were joined by Dr Rose Barnes, Deputy Lieutenant and Councillor Sue Prutton, Vice Chair of Broadland District Council.
The reception was followed by tours, led by the Hethel Innovation team who are also the Centre Manager. They viewed the units ranging from large to small, set along both sides of the Green, which will be an outdoor communal space for businesses. The tours also showcased the meeting space, the sensory tasting facility and test kitchens, which are available for hire.
Guests enjoyed Ronaldo's ice cream, Bread Source pastries and Etude coffee – who are three of the 50 plus businesses already benefiting from bespoke Innovation Support available as part of the project and are amongst the 100 businesses who have joined in the emerging Cluster and attended over 20 events to date.
Businesses interested in the facilities at the Broadland Food Innovation Centre should contact Nick Dunn at Brown & Co via nick.dunn@brown-co.com
For information on Innovation Support and Cluster programme please visit https://www.foodinnovationbroadland.com