Agriculture, Food & Drink

Agriculture has been at the heart of Britain’s economy for hundreds of years. However, HMRC have highlighted that only a tiny proportion of farmers and growers are accessing the valuable benefit of R&D tax credits.

As agriculture becomes more sophisticated, investment continually has to be made to keep up with new trends and legislations. R&D tax credits can restore up to 33% of this investment back into the business.

Research and development towards a more environmentally sustainable business also reaps rewards with claims made to HMRC.

The UK food and drink manufacturing industry is vast. It includes bakeries, breweries, dairies and meat processors, among others. According to HMRC, however, too few businesses in this sector are claiming R&D tax credits.

The increasing demand for healthier food – less salt and sugar, for example – is one factor driving research and development in the sector. There are many others, including investment in biodegradable packaging or more efficient processes.

Within this wide range of activity there are many opportunities to apply for R&D tax credits.

Food & drink projects that may qualify for R&D tax relief:

• Healthy ready meals with fewer preservatives and less salt;
• Improving food content nutritional value;
• Developing ingredients or food formulas that are both new and sustainable;
• Mitigating allergies such as dairy and gluten whilst maintaining taste;
• Improving the texture, taste and consistency of the food;
• Development of faster, healthier and safer food handling;
• Improving shelf life through variation of processing, storage temperature and packaging;
• Developing better ways to minimise contamination, waste and spoilage; or,
• Scaling up sample batches in a kitchen test environment to full production speed and quantity;