It’s always useful to have a helping hand to grow your drinks brand and, in the UK, drinks accelerator programmes can be great for accelerating your drinks brands, no matter the growth stage that you are at. These are some of the drinks accelerator programmes that you might want to consider applying for.
Stage 1 – Pre-Revenue/Concept Stage
Growing Kent & Medway Food & Drink Accelerator
Details: A 3-month program designed to turn innovative plant-based food and drink ideas into a commercial reality for businesses based in or moving to Kent or Medway and have scale-up potential.
Support offered: Tailored mentorship, food product development, technical assistance, access to lab facilities and guidance on pitching to retailers.
Partnerships: Led by NIAB East Malling in collaboration with the University of Greenwich’s Natural Resources Institute (NRI) and University of Kent.
Funding: Funded by the UK Government’s Strength in Places Fund.
Location: The Medway Food Innovation Centre (MFIC)
Application window: Ongoing
Stage 2 – Early Revenue/Proof of Concept
The Seed Academy
Details: A philanthropic accelerator programme connecting fledgling food and drink businesses (trading 4 years or less with an annual turnover of no more than £1m)lwith industry experts. Applicants are expected to demonstrate a social purpose within their business model.
Support offered: A network of contacts as well as exclusive access to personalised mentoring, commercial buyers and prolific investors with the real chance of securing a retail listing, investment and ongoing support.
Partnerships: Led by The Collaborators.
Funding: The Collaborators
Location: Bristol
Application window: Ongoing
ONE Food & Drink Accelerator
Details: A practical accelerator delivered by experienced industry practitioners aimed at ambitious food and drink start-ups or scaling businesses already trading in the north-east of Scotland.
Support offered: Expert advice, workshops, peer-to-peer learning, advice and coaching.
Partnerships:
Funding: Led, co-funded and delivered by Opportunity North East and supported by Aberdeenshire Council.
Location: Aberdeen
Application window: Ongoing
Stage 3 – Growth/Scaling Phase
Atradius Food & Drink Accelerator
Details: A free four-week online programme designed for UK food and drink businesses with a turnover of £500K+ and who are seeking to overcome market volatility and high insolvency rates.
Support offered: Bite-sized expert-led sessions designed for busy professionals covering supply chain and cash flow, risk management, export strategies and market insight.
Funding: Private
Location: On-line
Application window: 2027 TBC
Stage 4 – Scale-Up/International Growth
EIT Food Accelerator Network
Details: For impact-driven EU (plus UK) agri-tech and food-tech start-ups looking for tech validation and commercial acceleration across a 3-month period. Must have no more than 20 employees and revenue less than 1m euros.
Support offered: Masterclasses, 1:1 coaching, connection to relevant facilities and experts plus networking.
Funding: EIT, a body of the European Union
Location: Catania, Helsinki, Munich, Paris, Wageningen and Warsaw plus on-line
Application window: Closes 14 April 2026 12pm CET
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