Sustainability Grants Funding Innovation in Kent’s Food Supply Chains

Growing Kent & Medway’s Business Sustainability Challenge has awarded grants totalling £200,000 to six innovative local businesses, aimed at promoting sustainability in the food and drink sectors.

Grants worth between £10,000 and £50,000 have been awarded to allow the businesses to undertake short-term, high-impact, and innovative projects. Each project aims to address a specific challenge leading to a commercial, yet environmentally sustainable solution, for local plant-based food and drink supply chains.­­

The businesses are led by a fascinating group of entrepreneurs, including a part-time PhD student, a kitchen-based producer of South Indian takeaway cuisine, and a group of microbiologists and plant scientists.

They are united by a passion for growing their businesses with sustainability as a priority. They are also committed to ensuring the benefits of these projects are shared across their respective communities by providing education, outreach, or involvement opportunities across Kent and Medway.

Robert Patten, Managing Director of PlantWorks Ltd, said: “The support from Growing Kent & Medway will enable PlantWorks to further develop its proprietary bioreactor technology, improving yield through enhanced environmental controls and media modulation. Our ability to produce highly sterile bulk microbes using pharmaceutical techniques will enable PlantWorks to further contribute to the regenerative agriculture movement, which is essential for securing a long-term, sustainable food supply.”

A diverse range of projects have been funded, including developing fermented snacks from rescued fruits and vegetables, producing sustainable packaging from brewers’ spent grain, and optimising water and fertiliser use in indoor farming through data management platforms.

Inspro Ltd have been awarded £22,800 to fund a project on transforming food waste into animal feed and fertiliser using black soldier fly larvae. The grant will allow Inspro to provide larvae-containing bioconversion kits to local regenerative farms and smallholdings free of charge and will fund independent safety and nutritional testing of the fertiliser produced.

Corona Packaging Ltd will receive £50,000 to investigate the incorporation of seaweed into plastic blends for sustainable packaging. This will support the purchase of the raw materials required, including half a tonne of seaweed, and will allow Coronex to work with industry experts to develop the material formulation and product design.

Dr Nikki Harrison, Director of Growing Kent & Medway, said: “These grants offer a diverse range of businesses the opportunity to pursue commercial innovation and sustainability projects in Kent and Medway’s outstanding food and drink sectors.

The projects we’ve funded strengthen our region’s position as the leading British innovation cluster for these sectors, whilst growing an inclusive culture of sustainable entrepreneurship and building resilience across the UK’s horticultural supply chains.”