Capital grant

Food and Drink TechHUB is offering financial assistance to businesses looking to introduce a step-change to their food and drink organisation by implementing new technologies. 

What is it?

Food and Drink TechHUB Capital grants support 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, or develop new products and processes, which lead to an increase in productivity and/or a reduction in carbon emissions.

Digital technologies and data innovation in the food and drink industry has grown in recent years with more data than ever being generated, for example businesses adopting new technologies have been able to streamline processes and transform production lines.

What can the funding be used for?

The funding can be used to invest in technologies that will result in one or more of the following:

• Increase efficiency and productivity in production – where technology enables more streamlined and efficient production and monitoring processes.
  
  For example: purchase and installation of renewable energy generating devices where there is on site storage capability i.e. solar pv, or wind turbines. There is no requirement to have battery storage in place prior to application. Please note, we cannot support renewable energy generation projects where energy not used is sold to the grid.
  
  Solar PV can only be supported where it forms part of a larger project to reduce carbon emissions, for example, in conjunction with other suggested uses of the fund which can include battery storage where all energy is reused within the organisation and is not sold to the grid.
• Provide a greater focus on sustainability and net zero -technology that can track and monitor your environmental impact allowing you to make informed choices and implement changes to reduce your carbon impact.
• Support more environmentally friendly practices - including but not limited to, energy efficient process flows; energy efficient equipment, or introducing new equipment that opens new opportunities or improves current practices for reusing waste through recovery and reprocessing.
• Enhance decision making – where data led decisions have a direct positive impact on investment, production and trade activities.
• Support reformulation - algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI) systems can analyse the ingredients, flavours and textures of existing products and create new combinations that are appealing, healthy or novel. This can support you to diversify your offering, reduce costs or meet changing consumer demands.
• Increase transparency and traceability - making it easier for you to track ingredients and suppliers, enabling both customers and consumers to know where a product has come from and how it was made.
• Improve food safety and quality control - making it easier for you to manage and track food safety and quality.

What can the funding not be used for?

• Energy efficient measures relating to the building and building works e.g. insulation, upgrade to doors and windows, building extensions etc.
• The purchase of electric vehicles or charging points for electric vehicles. 
• Like for like replacement of machinery that does not increase productivity or reduce carbon emissions.
• Waste management costs involving a third party.
• Research and development activity. If you have an idea for a research and development project, please contact HIE’s Innovation Team.
• To match fund another HIE grant.
• Projects that have already started at the time of submitting an enquiry. Any costs which have been invoiced to the applicant or paid by the applicant prior to submitting an enquiry will not be eligible for funding.

How much can I apply for?

Grants of between 10% and 40% of total project costs are available. This can increase up to 50% where the business is based in a remote or rural area or has been trading for less than 5 years.

The minimum grant award is £10,000. The maximum grant award will be at HIE’s discretion depending on your project and the outcomes it is likely to achieve.

You will be required to provide evidence of match funding to ensure costs can be fully met. This will normally be your own business contribution, however in some cases we will consider funding from other sources.

Who is eligible?

To be eligible for the grant you must:

• Be a private business or social enterprise based and operating in the Highland Council area.
• Be a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME). For a definition of an SME, please see this guide.
• Be an enterprise involved in activities that directly create a food or drink product for human consumption. Examples include primary and value add processing and manufacturing.
• Supply chain enterprises that directly support these activities. Examples include growing, harvesting, packaging and logistics.
• Have been trading for at least 12 months (start date determined by date of incorporation or registered with HMRC if an unincorporated organisation). 

Applicants must comply with HIE’s fair work conditions for grant support. For more information, please visit our fair work page. If you want to speak to someone about the fair work requirement or need more information, please email enquiries@hient.co.uk 

Who is not eligible?

• Businesses and social enterprises that are not based in the Highland Council area.
• Large enterprises including Individual businesses, social enterprises or where a group of businesses together is part of a large enterprise. (definition of a large enterprise noted above).
• Accommodation providers, for example hotels, bed & breakfast, self-catering, etc.
• Food and beverage service, for example restaurants, bars, mobile catering, etc.
• Direct to consumer retail activities of food and drink.
• Organisations which are primarily core funded by the public sector are not eligible (core funding does not include project funding and service level agreements with the public sector).
• Consultancy and other support services.

How do I apply?

The deadline for submitting your enquiry is 25 August 2025. All projects must be completed and claims submitted to HIE by 27 February 2026.

Please note that if the full grant awarded to you has not been claimed by this date, the balance will be withdrawn.   

There is a two-stage application process for this grant. For stage one, please complete our online enquiry form.

You will hear about the outcome of your enquiry within seven working days and if successful, you will be allocated a development manager who will guide you through a stage two application.

If your stage one enquiry proceeds to full application (stage two) and your project seeks to reduce your carbon emissions, you will need to have measured your corporate carbon footprint for at least Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions** (scope 3 required for waste management).

As a minimum, we recommend using a recognised foot printing tool or methodology such as the Scottish Business Climate Collaboration.

You may also wish to work with a consultant who can provide your business with a carbon emissions and savings report. We recommend Business Energy Scotland.

Full grant applications will need to supply supporting documentation. This includes copies of historic accounts, financial projections, business plans, evidence of quotes for goods and services.

In all cases applicants must demonstrate they have a clear understanding of the digital and technological requirements for the business. Applicants are encouraged to explore the other TechHUB support available – TechHUB training grant, Net Zero Mobilisation; Awareness Raising and Knowledge Exchange; and Specialist Advice which could support their grant application. Access to these support programmes is available below.  

The final grant will be subject to specific Terms and Conditions set out in an individual grant award letter.

THE SMALL PRINT - THIS IS IMPORTANT

All HIE grant assistance is discretionary. Grant awards are subject to due diligence and budget availability. Due diligence includes making an assessment on the need for public funding; the viability of the business going forward; the ability of the applicant to deliver the project; the impact of the development on the economy, subsidy control considerations and the strength of the business case presented to HIE.

Making an application to the scheme does not guarantee that your application will be successful. If you are not successful in your application or are only partially successful e.g. you receive funding of a lesser amount than you applied for, we will arrange a call with you to let you know why you have been unsuccessful and point you in the direction of other possible sources of funding.

There is NO appeals process. We are unable to consider a complaint purely relating to dissatisfaction as to the outcome of a funding decision.  However, if you have identified a specific process failure relating to your application then you may wish to make a formal complaint. See our formal complaints process for more information.