Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation (SCFDI)

About Us

The Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation (SCFDI) at QMU, Edinburgh are experts in food science and technology.

The team work with food and drink businesses to turn concept ideas into commercial success through practical real-world solutions. 

The team collaborates with a diverse range of enterprises, from emerging start-ups to established food and drink businesses, and undertakes substantial UKRI-funded applied research projects. 

Contact SCFDI

Food and Drink Product Development

The SCFDI team have expertise in developing products across food and drink categories and offer expertise in:

  • Bringing concept idea to product prototype
  • Developing new food and drink products
  • Reformulating products for nutrition, sustainability or cost targets
  • Extending product shelf-life
  • Advising on food labelling  
  • Assessing nutritional value
  • Advising on manufacturing scale-up 

Consumer Testing and Sensory Analysis

The team provide food and drink businesses the opportunity to taste test their products with target consumers. Testing can be conducted via home use test, in a commercial environment or in our purpose built sensory suite based at QMU. Consumer testing can assist with:  

  • Benchmarking your product against competitors  
  • Gathering opinions on new innovative products to gain product listings
  • Determining the success of a reformulation project
  • Gathering data on likelihood to purchase, drivers or barriers of purchase 

What our clients say

Planet G Logo

Marta Negro

Founder

Overall we had a very good experience working with Queen Margaret University. While we didn’t achieve the initial target, the insights gained throughout the process became the foundation for developing other successful products.
Two Meals; fajitas and mushroom casserole

Mary Sinclair

Fundraising and Impact Manager

Edinburgh Community Food

SCFDI team were organised and efficient - The team were knowledgeable and enthusiastic to assist with the development of the 6 Take and Make Meals - we were pleased with the result, and felt they fulfilled the brief to produce tasty, meal occasion appropriate meals
Canny Mushrooms Logo, white and blue mushroom design

Joanna Davies

Founder

Canny Mushrooms

The team provided valuable input and guidance throughout on how best to test and develop the different tinned mushroom product formulations, to achieve the desired quality and flavour profiles, while taking into account economic viability and manufacturability at scale.
Chai tea in a clear coffee glass with cut lemongrass, ginger, cardamom and tea leaves beside

Anita Mitra

Founder

Chai Illu

Working with QMU has been a game changer for my business. Staff at QMU worked patiently with me to develop a product that is not only easy to produce but incredibly tasty. Without QMU and the innovation grant I would not have been able to launch my company.
One glass with peach liquid, one glass with yellow liquid and one beaker behind with dark red liquid with coriander leave on top

Eunice Olumide

Founder

O Drinks

I found the process working with the SCFDI team, brilliant - they were supportive and keen to add expertise and advise for the project. I found they were able to explain a complex process, in an easy and manageable way.
Contact the SCFDI team

THRIVE Entrepreneurial Training Programme

A training programme aimed at current and future food and drink entrepreneurs

The programme covers essential business skills and food product development knowledge to support a new business idea – whether food product or service.

  • Delivered by industry experts, our team at QMU and SAC Consulting / Scotland's Rural College (SRUC)
  • Students, graduates and start-ups food and drink business can attend
  • The programme aims to cover important aspects of starting and owning a food or drink business
  • THRIVE is a great opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs and industry experts
  • The THRIVE Fundamentals programme is funded by the Scottish Funding Council

Please register your interest for 2026 by email HelloSCFDI@qmu.ac.uk

A large group of people post for a photo together at THRIVE 2025

QMU’s commercial food team recognised as Knowledge Exchange Hero

Interface Awards, March 2025

Kim Stuart, Director of the Research and Knowledge Exchange Unit at QMU, said:

The SCFDI team is pivotal in driving innovation in the food and drink sector. The team’s focus is on “market ready” research to support SMEs reformulate existing and create new products in response to Scotland’s economic, public health and climate change challenges. Whether they are making existing products healthier, providing sustainable solutions or creating new functional foods, the SCFDI now successfully inhabits a unique position in Scotland’s food landscape, bridging the gap between small and large-scale organisations, and accelerating the exploitation of Scottish-led innovation into the food industry. 

Four people pose for a photograph, holding an award won at the Interface Awards.

Impactful Industry-Focused Research

Over the past decade, our expert team have worked on investigating and developing new innovative ingredients for the food and drink industry. The focus of our food and drink research is predominantly health and sustainability, providing impactful relevant research for food and drink manufacturers.

Find out more about our research

A person slicing a loaf of bread; on the counter beside them is an assortment of baked goods

Doctoral Study in Dietetics, Nutrition and Biological Sciences

Offering a focused range of courses in dietetics, our Division of Dietetics, Nutrition, Biological Sciences, Physiotherapy, Podiatry and Radiography (DNBSPPR) has extensive knowledge and skills in allied health professional education as well as in public health, community and voluntary sectors.

Start your doctoral journey at QMU

A Queen Margaret University student nurse examining the arm of a male patient