One of our clients is a food company that specialises in the manufacturing of flavouring products, seasonings and spices.

Supplying some of the biggest names in the food industry, the company had initially been conducting its R&D tax relief claims in house but wanted to engage an external specialist to improve their claim methodology and reduce risk in the process.

The project

Using over 30 years’ innovation incentives experience, Ayming provided detailed feedback on the client’s internal claim process, including areas where they were performing well and areas where they needed to improve. Having gained a deep understanding of the company’s current position, Ayming’s team of tax experts and industry specialists took on the project management role, giving their team more time for their day to day responsibilities.

In the client’s previous claims, competent professionals had not been successfully involved in the R&D claims process. It is crucial to have internal category champions who provide technical detail on the projects so as to qualify the eligible R&D activity. This also helps to optimise the claim value by identifying more potential areas of R&D. Therefore, Ayming ensured key competent professionals across the business were engaged throughout the R&D process, helping identify specific technical R&D projects from the company’s portfolio. The areas included NPD manufacturing/engineering and packaging thus optimising the claim value.

The Innovation

One of the standout projects in our engagement with the client involved the development of a seasoning mix for a large snack brand. The innovative process required research and development into reducing the sodium content and the removal of an artificial sweetener in the seasoning mix, in order to improve consumer appeal and nutritional declaration of the product. Our consultants used their food science and NPD backgrounds to ensure that all qualifying aspects of the project were included in the claim, maximising the client’s benefit for delivering this exciting snacking experience to the consumer.

The results

Ayming reassessed the cost categories in which the business was under-claiming, one major area was consumables, and identified further projects and activities that were eligible. Ayming was able to significantly improve the claim methodology, de-risked vulnerable areas, and maximise areas of the claim that were underutilised.

Having Ayming’s qualified, industry specialists on the team allowed for a deeper, more effective technical discussion and strategic analysis across all key areas of the business. Ayming was able to strengthen the claim justification from both a technical and a financial point of view, providing a robust R&D claim which was approved by HMRC without enquiry.