Name: Alan Thorpe
Company: ONE SeedPod
Job title: Director, ONE Food & Drink Director
Give us the elevator pitch for your business.
ONE SeedPod is Scotland’s food and drink innovation hub, a vibrant new space where ambitious manufacturers and producers can grow and scale their businesses.
Based in Aberdeen, ONE SeedPod offers 11 food-safe manufacturing kitchens, pilot plant, new product development and demonstration kitchens and technical, business growth and market development support— all under one roof.
Who are your customers?
Ambitious food and drink manufacturers and producers from across Scotland, both established and emerging businesses, who will use our unique suite of facilities and services to scale up production, develop new products, showcase products or trial new processes.
What is the biggest challenge and opportunity your organisation is facing right now?
Taking a project from concept to reality is always a challenge but Opportunity North East and the project partners have successfully done that with ONE SeedPod – creating a unique place that meets the needs of growing food and drink manufacturers and producers. We’ve just completed the final commissioning phase and are now open for business.
The opportunity is to work with exciting businesses to accelerate their innovation and growth and build on this region’s industry-leading position for premium products and high-value exports. Food and drink is Scotland’s biggest manufacturing sector and vital to this region’s future prosperity.
What is your word of advice for fellow Chamber members?
Sign up for AGCC’s morning bulletin – it’s a great snapshot of what’s happening across the region. When you are running or leading a business it is important to remember you are part of a community and your peers are dealing with many of the same issues that you and your team are. That idea of an entrepreneurial community and supporting ecosystem is central to ONE SeedPod – shout out to some of our regional partners, like SRUC!
What is the best thing about being a Chamber member?
Routes to engage with other members are valuable. North-east Scotland has a broad and diverse economy, and the Chamber membership reflects that. Opportunity North East action and investment are targeted at specific growth sectors in the region. Chamber membership is one of the ways we engage with stakeholders across the whole economy.