15 Nov 2021

R&D tax credits for food and drink businesses

For food and drink businesses, there is ample opportunity for a Research and Development (R&D) tax credit claim through creating something as simple as a new recipe or a new method of preservation.

One of the major driving forces for innovation within the food and drink industry is pressure from consumers and regulators to adapt foods to make them healthier, gluten-free, vegan, organic, more sustainable etc.

When you see products stating ‘new recipe’ or ‘now with 20% less sugar’ on supermarket shelves, these can be seen as a marketing technique, however, sometimes there will be R&D claims behind it.

Examples of R&D tax credits for food and drink businesses

R&D is undertaken in the food industry with the aim to make food:

  • Better for freezing and defrosting
  • More sustainable
  • Healthier
  • Tastier (even with less sugar or salt)
  • Quicker to produce or to chill
  • Extend the shelf life without typical preservatives
  • With meat substitutes

R&D can be driven by either external needs, changes or legislation. For instance, qualifying activities include:

  • Time spent developing the process and recipe formulation
  • Experimenting with new state of the art equipment which needs to be adapted and have its capabilities extended to meet food needs could qualify for R&D
  • Development of new packaging, especially with the introduction of the plastic packaging tax
  • Processes which may use waste produce

Gluten free R&D example

One example of a qualifying R&D project involved developing gluten-free products. Free-from products, including gluten, are expanding rapidly in the market. It is estimated that 1% of the population has coeliac disease and developing products for coeliac’s has several technical challenges to overcome.

These include:

  • Staff time spent developing recipes with gluten-free ingredients that had acceptable texture and taste profile, whilst ensuring the structural integrity of the finished product is unaffected during the cooking process
  • Ingredients wasted and energy consumed in the development process will also qualify for the R&D incentive
  • Once the products technological issues have been resolved, you may wish to create a production line to scale up the manufacturing process. However, it is one thing developing a recipe on a small scale, but significant further testing is usually required to ensure it can be reproduced using mass production techniques. This includes development of a process to prevent contamination of allergens used in other products, as well as introducing robotic components and developing them for custom capabilities

Factors driving food R&D legal and regulatory changes in the food and drink sector

Legal and regulatory changes are essential and cannot be avoided. They apply when the government makes an informed decision to change a certain standard which must be met and are often high profile in the media.

The introduction of the sugar tax five years ago led to significant amounts of R&D in developing the same taste whilst reducing the level of sugar to less than 5g per 100ml to prevent the company being subject to levies of up to 24p per litre.

Other factors which may give rise to R&D activities include:

  • Brexit
  • Consumer trends
  • Ethical factors
  • Environmental standards

We have a team of food and drink accounting experts who can help identify whether your company qualifies for R&D and help process the claim.

Get in touch

Related insights

New business advisory director joins our growing Bristol office

4 August 2025

Read

How enhanced R&D intensive support (ERIS) helps innovative businesses to grow

30 July 2025

Read

Top 10 UK’s Best Workplaces for Women ranking for PKF Francis Clark

30 July 2025

Read
Two female business owners sat at a desk working out their VAT on a laptop computer.

What is employment related securities (ERS) year-end reporting?

28 July 2025

Read
A group of four colleagues having a discussion around a board room table.

Employment related securities year-end: what has to be reported?

28 July 2025

Read

Agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR) draft legislation released

22 July 2025

Read

From soil to sustainability: exploring regenerative dairy farming

22 July 2025

Read

HMRC VAT penalties: Key changes and how to stay compliant

21 July 2025

Read

HMRC complaints: A case study and the complaints process

16 July 2025

Read
Solar panels on a sloping field bank with the sun shining.

PKF Francis Clark advises Low Carbon on landmark solar transactions

15 July 2025

Read
A male and female colleague look down at a laptop screen while sitting in a modern glass walled office.

Pillar two and uncertainty in the US  

11 July 2025

Read
An office worker sits in front of a computer whilst looking at a notepad with his mobile phone held to his ear.

Enterprise management incentives (EMI) FAQs

9 July 2025

Read