A formal collaboration agreement between Produced in Kent and Growing Kent & Medway will provide innovative plant and produce food businesses with extended support to scale their market growth.

British Apples and Pears, in collaboration with Niab, utilised one of our small grant programmes to trial novel treatments for apple scab. The project identified a promising alternative to lost chemical fungicides and proved that a risk-based spray programme could reduce application costs by £65 per hectare.

Key recommendations to ensure the agri-food sector has the skilled workforce it needs to thrive into the future.

Results from an innovation survey to benchmark R&D activity in the agri-food sector.

What makes regional investment in agri-food innovation successful?

A reflection on our impact on fostering innovation in the Kent and Medway region.

Untapping the potential of fruit waste from Kent and Medway's orchards and fruit farms

At the Sustainable Foods conference in London this week, Growing Kent & Medway Programme Director Simon Barnes shared his vision for how regional collaboration can bring together the fragmented UK food system. Speaking on Wednesday 28th January 2026, Simon explored the vital role that local government, businesses, and universities play in driving growth.

The UK hop sector faces significant challenges from global competition, a changing climate, and pest and diseases pressures. This report examines how a targeted strategic place-based investment can support the industry and revive British hops in Kent and Medway.

Asplins Producer Organisation and Niab utilised our R&D support to investigate whether specific strawberry and raspberry varieties could naturally resist spotted wing drosophila (SWD). While the project ultimately proved that varietal selection alone does not resist the pest, the research provided the industry with vital data, redirecting focus toward other essential control strategies.

Cecii Health utilised our business support ecosystem to transform a handmade fermented juice shot into a scalable, market-ready product. By combining technical R&D from our Food Accelerator with expert business mentoring, founder Cecilia Wu has refined her formulation, become a finalist for the Nourish Awards, and is now scaling up for national retail.

The toolkit provides an evidence-based blueprint for organisations aiming to tackle local youth unemployment through entrepreneurship with food and drink.

In collaboration with UKRI, this roadmap outlines the strategic actions required to capture a share of the $27 billion global market for alternative proteins.

The report explores the untapped potential of horticultural by-products in the South East to drive a biobased circular economy.

What makes great innovation? We evaluated over 70 projects funded by Growing Kent & Medway to compare the characteristics of great innovation. An interactive dashboard is available below to explore these key features.

What is innovation? Why is it important in food and farming? And how can investing in innovation drive regional economic growth?

An independent brand evaluation and market valuation of the Strength in Places-funded project Growing Kent & Medway - a report by Strat House.

Inspro, supported by Growing Kent & Medway, successfully demonstrated a circular solution for organic waste using Black Soldier Fly larvae. By converting waste streams into nutrient-rich "frass", the project validated a sustainable alternative to synthetic fertilisers that boosts soil health and microbial diversity.

Deep Planet, in collaboration with Niab and leading UK vineyards, utilised our support to develop an AI-driven disease monitoring system. By analysing satellite imagery, the project successfully demonstrated a cost-effective solution to predict fungal infections, protecting the UK's growing wine sector from yield losses.

Re-generation Earth, in collaboration with the University of Kent, utilised one of our large R&D grant programmes to establish an on-farm "Living Lab" for biochar production. The project demonstrated that while biochar is most effective as a nutrient carrier rather than a standalone fertiliser, it offers significant potential for long-term carbon sequestration and soil health improvement.