Scotland Food & Drink

Name

Scotland Food & Drink

Legal name

Scotland Food & Drink Limited

Website

https://foodanddrink.scot

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food and Drink Industry Trade Association

NAICS

Food Service Contractors (72231), Caterers (722320), Food Services and Drinking Places (722)

akta.pro primary industry

Food Assistance & Food Banks (BPAGAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food & Beverage Manufacturing (EDABALAL), Catering & Events Food Service (EDALADAC)

Keywords

• Food and drink industry
• Industry trade association
• Market intelligence insights
• Food sector training
• Supplier development programmes

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership subscriptions: Recurring annual membership fees tiered by member turnover. Producer member tiers: Hospitality £120, Startup £120, Micro £345, Emerging £720, Scaling £1,430, Accelerating £2,140, Strategic £3,300 annually. Affiliate member tiers: Small £720, Medium £1,430, Large £2,140 annually. New benefits applied from 1 April 2025; new pricing applies on renewal for existing members.
2. The Academy training programme fees: Per-delegate fees for three programmes (Seeding Growth, Accelerating Growth, Commercial Excellence) priced by business size with member, partnership-member and standard rates. Example: Seeding Growth £250-£1,000; Accelerating Growth £350-£1,500; Commercial Excellence £850-£3,000. Members receive discounts and Partnership members receive 25% off standard fees.
3. SALSA Go! certification programme fees: Funded food safety certification mentoring programme. Non-members £1,550 + VAT; Micro members £1,162 + VAT (25% discount); Emerging/Scaling/Accelerating/Strategic members £775 + VAT (50% discount). Includes prequalification, mentoring, action plan, closing review and a SALSA audit.
4. BRCGS Professional programme fees: Co-funded BRCGS Professional training programme in partnership with totrain. Standard fee £3,360; after totrain £1,000 discount and Scotland Food & Drink £1,180 funding, members pay £1,410 (incl. VAT). Member balance is the residual contribution.
5. Event, exhibition and consultancy bookings: Booking-based revenue from exhibitions, conferences, trade events, workshops, seminars and consultancy (INSIGHTS Programme), invoiced on Booking Confirmation with 30-day payment terms and non-refundable deposits. Cancellation fees range from 50% (within 10 working days for non-exhibition services) to 100% (within 30 days for exhibition space).
6. Food tourism programme participation fees: Nominal participation fees for funded training programmes (e.g., Scotland's Bookable Food and Drink Experiences Programme / Appetite for More) where businesses receive training and mentoring valued at ~£2,500 for a £75 fee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Scotland Food & Drink is the industry leadership body and trade association for Scotland's food and drink sector, founded in 2007 to facilitate joint government-industry strategy. It sells tiered membership (Startup to Strategic producer tiers plus Affiliate and Hospitality tiers), delivers The Knowledge Bank market intelligence service, runs The Academy training programmes (Seeding Growth, Accelerating Growth, Commercial Excellence), co-funds SALSA Go! and BRCGS Professional certification mentoring, hosts Showcasing Scotland and Meet the Buyer trade events, coordinates 13 Regional Food Groups, and operates the Excellence Awards and food tourism programmes (Scotland's Bookable Food and Drink Experiences / Appetite for More).

Product overview

Scotland Food & Drink operates as a unified membership-and-services platform for Scotland's food and drink industry rather than a single product. Its core engine is the tiered Membership Programme (Startup, Micro, Emerging, Scaling, Accelerating, Strategic and Hospitality producer tiers plus Small/Medium/Large Affiliate tiers), which gates access to the organisation's two flagship intelligence and capability products — The Knowledge Bank (market intelligence and consumer insights service) and The Academy (training programme comprising Seeding Growth, Accelerating Growth and Commercial Excellence sub-courses). Layered on top are specialised supplier development programmes (SALSA Go!, BRCGS Professional), regional and UK growth services (Grow Regionally, Grow UK Wide), tourism support (Scotland's Bookable Food and Drink Experiences Programme / Appetite for More) and high-profile events (The Excellence Awards, Showcasing Scotland, Sourcing Scotland, Scottish Food & Drink September). Toolkits, publications and a member newsletter complete the offering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Knowledge Bank: Scotland Food & Drink's branded insights service providing customised market research, data analysis and consumer insights for food and drink businesses, supported by the Scotland Food & Drink partnership and funded by the Scottish Government.
• The Academy
• Showcasing Scotland
• Sourcing Scotland
• SALSA Go!
• BRCGS Professional
• The Excellence Awards
• Appetite for More

Quantifiable outcome

• Sector worth £19 billion; +86% new business startups in 7 years; +43% food productivity increase since 2007.
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers28 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• VisitScotlandflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-leads the Food Tourism Leadership Group with Scotland Food & Drink and the Scottish Tourism Alliance, jointly delivering Scotland's Bookable Food and Drink Experiences Programme and Appetite for More. VisitScotland is also referenced as a key partner on food tourism strategy.
• Scottish GovernmentflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunds The Knowledge Bank, the food tourism leadership programme, Sourcing Scotland events and Excellence Awards categories (e.g., Organic Business of the Year). The Scottish Government has also provided regional food and drink grants of up to £5,000 to support local produce projects.
• Scottish Tourism AllianceflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of the Food Tourism Leadership Group alongside Scotland Food & Drink, VisitScotland and the Scottish Government. Co-delivers Scotland's Bookable Food and Drink Experiences Programme.
• totraincoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDelivers the BRCGS Professional training programme in partnership with Scotland Food & Drink. totrain is a BRCGS-approved Principle Training Partner providing a £1,000 discount on the standard programme price. Scotland Food & Drink funds 50% of the remaining balance for eligible member delegates.
• SALSAcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSafe and Local Supplier Approval food safety certification scheme. Scotland Food & Drink funds SALSA to deliver the SALSA Go! mentoring programme, providing prequalification, induction, mentoring, action plan, closing review and a SALSA audit to Scottish food producers.
• The Tourism Space (Tina O'Dwyer)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-produced the Food & Drink Trails for Scotland Guide in partnership with Scotland Food & Drink, supporting destinations to develop, manage and market food and drink trails.
• Karen Donnelly AssociatescoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCo-produced the Learning Journey Guide in partnership with Scotland Food & Drink, supporting food, drink and tourism businesses to plan and deliver learning journeys.
• Forth Valley Food & DrinkflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of Scotland's 13 Regional Food Groups, coordinated by Stacey Spence, supporting local producers like Stirling Distillery through events, networking, business support and funding guidance. Operates as a key regional channel for Scotland Food & Drink programmes.
• STEP ScotlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted with Forth Valley Food & Drink a producer tour at Upper Ballaird Farm Co-op in Balfron, supported via Scotland Food & Drink's Sourcing Scotland Regional initiative.
• Scotland's Regional Food GroupsflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor13 Regional Food Groups (including Forth Valley Food & Drink, East Lothian Food & Drink, Eat SW Scotland and the Highland Good Food Partnership) deliver regional events, festivals, networking and business support on behalf of Scotland Food & Drink.
• TaylcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerAffiliate member offering an all-in-one online training platform for compliance and onboarding. Scotland Food & Drink members receive a 10% discount on Tayl courses.
• Massimo Zanetti Beverage GroupminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerAcquired Brodies (Scotland Food & Drink member) in 2007; supports Brodies with supply chain integrity while the brand remains independently operated. Brodies' fine teas are sold in 40+ countries.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Food and Drink Federation (FDF): UK-wide trade association for food and drink manufacturers, operating a similar model of membership, policy representation, training and events. Directly comparable as a peer industry body serving the same food and drink community, albeit at a UK (not Scotland-specific) level.
• Quality Meat Scotland (QMS): Non-statutory public body promoting the Scottish red meat industry, funded by levy and government support. Comparable as a Scotland-based, government-backed industry body running marketing, export development and quality assurance for a food and drink sub-sector.
• Seafood Scotland: Industry body promoting Scottish seafood in home and export markets, with a similar public-private funding mix. Comparable as a Scotland-based sector trade body delivering marketing, events and trade engagement for a food and drink vertical.
• FDF Scotland: Scotland arm of the Food and Drink Federation representing Scottish food and drink manufacturers on policy, regulation and growth. Highly comparable as a Scotland-specific industry body with overlapping membership and policy representation remit.
• IFE (International Food & Drink Event): Major UK food and drink trade exhibition organised by Fresh Montgomery, connecting producers with retail, foodservice and wholesale buyers. Directly comparable as a peer organiser of large-scale food and drink trade events, with overlapping buyer-supplier audience.
• Speciality & Fine Food Fair: Annual UK trade event for artisan and speciality food and drink, organised by Fresh Montgomery. Comparable as a peer trade event serving the producer-buyer meet-up motion that Showcasing Scotland also fulfils, with a similar focus on smaller and premium producers.

Regional players

• Food NI (Northern Ireland Food and Drink): Industry body for Northern Ireland's food and drink sector, delivering marketing, events and export support with public-sector backing. Comparable as a UK regional peer body performing the same industry leadership, events and trade development role for a different UK nation.
• Cywain Wales: Welsh Government-supported food and drink development programme helping Welsh producers grow, with events, mentoring and market access support. Comparable as a devolved-nation peer of Scotland Food & Drink, offering public-backed services to food and drink producers in a different UK region.

Broad incumbents

• VisitScotland: National tourism agency for Scotland, a co-lead on the Food Tourism Leadership Group alongside Scotland Food & Drink. Comparable as a Scotland-wide, government-backed industry and marketing body, but with a tourism (not food and drink) primary remit.

Others

• Scotland's Rural College (SRUC): Public land-based research and education institution delivering skills, training and applied research for Scotland's rural and food economy. Adjacent to Scotland Food & Drink as a sector capability provider (skills, training, research) that supports the same food and drink producer base.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ScotFoodDrink
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/scotfooddrink
• Instagraminstagram.com/scotfooddrink
• Xx.com/scotfooddrink

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments12 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Scotland Food & Drink