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.

We help food and drink businesses develop and compete through practical commercially-focused support to improve or develop their products.

The team work with a wide spectrum of businesses, from start-ups to well-known food and drink companies, as well as large UKRI-funded applied research projects.

Contact SCFDI (web enquiry form)

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

Brose Logo

Simon Walker

Brose Oats

Collaborating with Queen Margaret University's Food Technology Department on the development of powdered oat milk has been an exceptional experience. The team's expertise and innovative approach were evident from the outset.
Tempo Tea Bar Logo

Liam and MayGem

Founders, Tempo Tea

It was a very good experience working with the QMU (SCFDI team) on the project to develop 2 ranges of tea concentrates. The product was developed to the expectations and standards as was set out in the initial brief.
Hands holding sunflowers seeds with a blue and white plate in the background

James and Gemma

Founders, No Nut Butter

The team at the university have been great to work with and have allowed us to develop 3 products and give us a great start in getting our company off the ground and up and running.
Parched pea pate on crackers with cheese, tomatoes and green leaves

Carole Brook

Founder, Atkinson's Parched Peas

Initially, I was seeking support to achieve the best texture, flavour balance and shelf-life using natural ingredients. I feel we achieved it and much more.
Juniors Ready to Cook Logo

Lesley Robertson

Juniors Biscuit

Juniors could not be any more grateful to the team, Catriona, Sarah and Caroline from Queen Margaret University – the experience of working with them has more impact to the Charity than we ever imagined.
Contact the SCFDI team

THRIVE

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 programme is funded by the Scottish Funding Council

Join us at THRIVE 2026

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. 

Interface award winners

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