Food Processing, Marketing and Cooperation (FPMC) review launched

Scotland Food & Drink has been asked by the Scottish Government to conduct a review into the Food Processing, Marketing and Cooperation (FPMC) fund, which was paused this year.

Subject to available funding, the Scottish Government hope to revive the scheme next year and are seeking input from Scotland Food & Drink and the industry about how it can best meet business needs whilst continuing to support Scotland’s social and environmental goals.  They are asking food and drink businesses who might consider applying for a future growth investment fund to fill in a survey as part of their information gathering phase.

The survey will take around 10 minutes to complete and insights from the sector will directly impact the recommendations Scotland Food & Drink make to government.

Background into FPMC
FPMC grants are a form of subsidy, previously funded via the EU CAP mechanism and aimed at enterprises using Scottish agricultural produce. The funding has provided start up and development grants for hundreds of projects including capital projects such as processing facilities and equipment, as well as non-capital projects such as marketing (e.g. trade shows), co-operative activity and efficiency initiatives.  Funding awards have ranged from £1.5m for large capital projects to £40k for cooperative marketing. 

Examples of awarded funding can be found at the links below:

Arbikie Distillery | Scottish Rural Network

Mackie's Limited | Scottish Rural Network

Next Steps
Scotland Food & Drink will analyse and incorporate the survey findings into a report and recommendations, which will be made public and used by the Scottish Government to inform plans. They will include selected quotes from the survey but will not attribute these to individuals or organisations unless consent is explicitly provided.

The survey will remain open until Friday 26 May 2023 and can be accessed here