Scotland's food and drink sector, now valued at a record £24bn to the Scottish economy, took centre stage late last month as industry leaders, investors and policymakers gathered for the Food & Drink Investment Roundtable to determine why one of Scotland's most trusted and resilient industries is consistently overlooked by the investment community.

The roundtable, convened by Scotland Food & Drink, brought together key stakeholders to address the significant gap between the sector's commercial success and its share of private investment. Despite being Scotland's largest manufacturing sector – employing 115,000 people and delivering sustained growth over 15 years – food and drink ranks tenth out of ten sectors for investment in Scotland, with deal numbers falling 34% between 2022 and 2024.

This under-investment comes at a time when the sector is projecting an additional £4bn in sales over the next five years, driven by surging global demand for premium, provenance-led Scottish products. Total exports now stand at £7.5bn, with food exports alone growing 200% over the past decade.

Scotland's food and drink industry has delivered consistent long-term growth, with turnover rising 64% since 2008 to reach £18.9bn. Yet despite this commercial success, the sector's investment profile tells a different story. While Scotland overall is bucking UK investment trends – with deal values up 108% in Q1 2025 – food and drink has seen deal numbers contract sharply.

The sector's unique profile helps explain the gap. With over 17,000 registered businesses – many family-owned and a significant proportion female-led – food and drink does not fit the traditional investment mould. Most SMEs are seeking smaller sums (58% need under £50k), with only 17% considering equity finance. Instead, businesses rely on debt, grants, and increasingly crowdfunding – which rose 24% in Scotland even as it fell 38% UK-wide.

Iain Baxter, Chief Executive of Scotland Food & Drink, said: "Our sector is trusted globally, anchored in quality, and primed for growth. We have a £24bn industry with a track record of resilience, a world-class support ecosystem, and consumer demand that spans every continent. The question this roundtable sought to answer is simple: why isn't the investment community matching our ambition?

"This event was about changing that. We brought together the right people to have an honest conversation about the barriers, the opportunities, and the steps we need to take to ensure Scotland's food and drink sector attracts the investment it deserves. Coming off the back of record valuations and sustained growth, there has never been a better time to make that case."

Participants at the roundtable heard that the diagnosis was validated: investors confirmed that food and drink is underserved relative to its economic contribution, and that barriers exist on both sides of the table. Financial literacy emerged as a critical weakness, with businesses struggling to articulate their story in numbers and unclear on the difference between debt and equity. Branding, too, was identified as an area of underinvestment – Scottish food businesses are disproportionately focused on processing at the expense of building the brands that make them investment-ready.

Yet there was also optimism. Deal flow is thin but not absent. Investable businesses exist, but they are not being identified, developed, or connected to the right investors at the right time. What is missing, participants concluded, is a visible investment identity: no dedicated fund, no specialist network, no obvious front door for investors interested in food and drink.

Scotland's food and drink sector shares many characteristics with sectors that attract significant angel and venture capital investment – particularly life sciences. Both are built on long-term research and development, rely on Scotland's world-class natural assets and academic institutions, and serve markets with inelastic demand.

Yet while life sciences benefits from a mature angel investment culture, food and drink remains under-capitalised. The roundtable explored how to shift this dynamic, recognising that food and drink is not just a heritage industry but a critical strategic sector with unrivalled stability.

"You will never lose demand for food and drink," Baxter added. "It is a fundamental human need, and Scotland is trusted to produce it at the highest quality. That combination alone makes this sector one of the most stable and compelling investment opportunities there is."

The roundtable forms part of a broader push by Scotland Food & Drink to strengthen the sector's investment readiness and connectivity. Attendees discussed practical next steps, including improving financial literacy amongst businesses, building stronger bridges between the sector and angel investor networks, and creating a more visible identity for food and drink in Scotland.