Richard Farrington, product specialist, and Yvette Taylor, bakery project manager, with the new machine

Source: Kudos Blends

Richard Farrington, product specialist, and Yvette Taylor, bakery project manager, with the new machine

Ingredients supplier Kudos Blends has secured an £8,160 small equipment grant to help purchase a texture analyser.

The analyser is an essential part of the company’s plans for further growth because it provides ‘sophisticated scientific results’ about the way its products work, said Yvette Taylor, bakery projects manager at Kudos Blends. It provides data about the consistency and texture of baked products.

Kudos, which is based in Shropshire and specialises in leavening agents, added that this advancement in testing technology had already led to the recruitment of a new member of staff.

“Our mission is to supply the global bakery industry with healthier leavening agents that deliver the superior quality bakers expect from Kudos Blends. The credibility of the data from the texture analyser will give us further evidence that our products deliver the health benefits and quality that potential customers are looking to achieve,” said Taylor.

The texture analyser at Kudos Blends analysis pancakes

Source: Kudos Blends

The new machine at work

The grant, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and supported by the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership and Marches Growth Hub, is part of a £3million funding package which also includes the Marches Building Investment Grant.

Programme manager Caroline Cattle said the grant programme, which launched earlier this year, could help companies across the Marches realise their domestic and international growth ambitions.

“Companies across Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin can all benefit from this programme and we would urge any business which meets the criteria to investigate how it can help them,” Cattle added.

Grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 are available under the programme, which is open to small and medium-sized companies across the region. The grant can contribute to up to 50% of the equipment cost and primarily covers B2B companies.

Items purchased must exceed £500 in value and have a life expectancy of three years. Eligible projects must lead to the creation of at least one part-time job within six months or the creation of a new product or service to be used by other businesses.