Food and Drink North East (FADNE) is proud to celebrate the first outcome of its Research & Development Portal and educational partnership with Newcastle University.
The Research & Development Portal, hosted on FADNE’s website, connects North East businesses who have project ideas with undergraduate and post-graduate students at Newcastle University who are studying relevant disciplines, offering them an opportunity to work together on research, consultancy projects and enterprise challenges.
A team of third-year students – Georgi Georgiev, Ryan Yau, William Hazelwood, Tasha Fell, Mary Cason, Isabella Cross and Ben Wright – have just completed an eight-month project for Pink Lane Bakery as part of their Food Innovation Consultancy module, which saw them work on strengthening customer engagement and operations to support growth, and carrying out primary data collection in the form of customer surveys which were underpinned by key marketing theories, site visits and interviews with staff.
The outcomes of the project included a presentation of the findings and recommendations of their marketing and HCCP report for Pink Lane Bakery Ltd to its founders Neil Le Flohic and Martha Jackson.
“Embedding industry into our taught programmes gives the students the opportunity to put their knowledge into practice, working on real challenges and generating novel insight,” says Graham Cole, Lecturer in Enterprise at Newcastle University. “This first-hand experience not only empowers their graduate progression but also gives industry partners fresh perspectives and creativity from an often underrepresented customer segment – a true win-win!”
“The opportunity to partner with Pink Lane Bakery brought to life all my business learnings and skills I have developed throughout university,” says Will Hazelwood, third-year Agri-business Management student. “Being able to share ideas and discuss with the people from such an entrepreneurial business was very inspiring and confidence instilling.”
This collaboration represents a key milestone in FADNE’s commitment to fostering stronger links between industry and academia and in supporting innovation, skills development and business growth across the North East’s food and drink sector.
Through its partnership with Newcastle University, FADNE is helping businesses access academic expertise and student-led consultancy projects designed to tackle real-world challenges and unlock new opportunities. Companies are encouraged to engage by proposing project ideas, enabling students – supported by academic staff – to deliver tailored research and practical solutions.
Co-founder of Pink Lane Bakery, Neil Le Flohic, said, “Working with the students has been a genuinely insightful experience. Their research and recommendations challenged some of our thinking and introduced new ideas we hadn’t previously considered. We’re excited to explore several of their suggestions as we continue to grow.”
This successful collaboration sets a strong precedent for future projects, reinforcing the value of connecting industry with emerging talent to drive innovation across the sector.
To find out more about the R&D Portal, or our educational partnership with Newcastle University, please visit: www.fadne.org/research-and-development-portal
