More success at NWRC FoodOvation Centre

Driving innovation at NWRC through the successful FoodOvation Centre

About the Companies

Broighter Gold Rapeseed Oil. A family business that has grown into one of the UK’s best known and loved rapeseed oil suppliers

Corndale Chorizo Established in 2012 by Alastair Crown, Corndale Farm produces top quality pork from its herd of rare breed, free range pigs.

 About the Knowledge Provider

North West Regional College (NWRC) plays an integral role in supporting the social, economic and cultural development of the North West Region. Increasingly too, the College is an agent for growth, playing a central role in the economic engagement and strategy in the city and the region by aligning its offer to the needs of industry through strong collaborative networks.

The Foodovation Centre within the college is a superbly equipped £500K food innovation facility and is paving the way for innovation and growth in the food sector by helping local businesses produce new food products in a safe and commercially viable manner. In so doing, NWRC is helping to forge strong relationships between food businesses and colleges and universities in the North West.

 About the Case

Broighter Gold Rapeseed Oil and Corndale Chorizo are two local companies who have availed of the services of Foodovation at NWRC. 

Broighter Gold Rapeseed Oil

Leona Kane is the owner of Broighter Gold Rapeseed Oli, based on the flat, fertile reclaimed land at the foot of Binevenagh in County Londonderry. The company started pressing rapeseed oil around 2011, and has expanded every year since. As Leona freely admits, a key driver in the company’s success has been the support given by the technical team at NWRC Foodovation Centre.

 “I would definitely advise any new food business starting up to take advantage of the superb resource that is available on our doorstep,” says Leona. “The staff and students were there to help us, not just in areas of production and product development, but in market research too.”

Corndale Chorizo

The challenge facing the producer was to find a way to add value to the pork produce. After undertaking very extensive research and development work with the Foodovation team, Corndale developed its own recipe for a range of Chorizo with a smoky, savoury flavour, with gentle background heat. The unique selling point of this wonderful product is not so much its place of origin but rather, it is that the chorizo is lovingly created by a culinary artisan, using top quality pork from lovingly-reared pigs.

Innovation in food innovation is seen as a key driver for growth in the area, and the Foodovation team is currently helping numerous SME food entrepreneurs to improve their businesses and develop new products, by delivering help in such areas as new product development, market research, operational and process improvement and food safety. Stella Graham, Innovation Centre Manager said:

“Food innovation is a key driver for growth in this area. Over the years we have helped hundreds of companies improve their business and develop new products, by delivering help in such areas as new product development, operational and process improvement and food safety. We also conduct taste panels and give guidance on menu development and recipe engineering, as well as packaging design, labelling and diet and nutrition. We’ve worked on some exceptional new local foodstuffs, but sometimes too, we have to be blunt about how we see the viability of a new food product. Our doors are always open to new businesses and with the help of the Connected project we are keen to sit down with both new and established businesses and help put them on the road to collaborating with ourselves”

 Contacts

Knowledge Provider	NWRC
Name	Stella Graham
Email	Stella.graham@nwrc.ac.uk
Telephone	028 71 276408