About us

We are global regulation and compliance experts. We support clients with regulatory challenges in over 150 countries, and span the whole food and beverage sector.

Building on our 100+ year history, we operate as a membership organisation, providing clear, tailored advice to individual clients, and critical insights and intelligence to all our members.

At our core, our team is here to help clients navigate regulations wherever they operate – unlocking innovation and global opportunities.

International reach

Our team of experts is international. In total our consultants speak more than 50 languages and have insight into food and beverage regulations in over 150 countries. Wherever you operate, we have the geographical reach, local connections and regional understanding to ensure your products are compliant.

Broad expertise

We cover the whole food and beverage industry and beyond. From confectionery to soft drinks, alcoholic beverages to ingredients, and food packaging to pet food – we have the regulatory and industry knowledge within our team to meet a huge range of challenges wherever your product is in its lifecycle.

Commercially aware

Many of our consultants come from the food and beverage industry. They have sat where you sit and faced the same issues and problems. So we recognise your challenges and are alive to the opportunities. Combined with our regulatory expertise, we understand your wider market drivers and will support you in achieving your commercial ambitions.

Interdisciplinary capability

We are part of Science Group which means we have easy access to a wealth of additional scientific expertise and resources beyond Leatherhead Food Research. Whether it’s a toxicologist, packaging specialist or R&D consultant – we can bring the right people together to work as one team on your project.

Best-in-class systems

Our powerful project management systems are a match for the best in the global food and beverage industry. We have the people skills and platforms in place to make sure your projects are resourced properly and run smoothly. We can also deliver valuable insights in a way that’s relevant and understandable – cutting through complexity.

Membership community

As a member of Leatherhead Food Research, you are part of a unique community of companies across the global food and beverage industry. As well as consultancy time, our members benefit from our renowned Global Legal Highlights newsletter, our Help Line – with prompt access to our team of experts, and a wealth of whitepapers, events and webinars. With £1m+ invested in our insights each year, membership is a brilliant, cost-effective way of ensuring that you and your team are kept constantly up-to-date on the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape.

100+ years of heritage

Our company was founded in 1919 as a partnership between industry and the UK Government to drive scientific innovation in the British food industry. During those 100+ years (and counting) we have worked for thousands of different companies. This has allowed us to build team of experts who speak over 50 languages between them, and have detailed knowledge of food and beverage regulations in more than 150 countries. Now owned by Science Group, we bring this wealth of expertise to every project we work on.

Client track record

We are very proud of our track record and the variety of clients we work with. From global food and beverage brands to ingredient manufacturers, retailers and product service companies, our client list is constantly evolving to cover an ever wider span of the global food and beverage industry. This gives us invaluable experience and insight that continually enriches our work.

State of the art facilities

Our south of London R&D hub at Great Burgh in Epsom has fabulous, dedicated facilities for the food & beverage industry. We have fully fitted cooking instruction kitchens with UKAS-accredited testing methods, extensive food science laboratories for microbiology, microscopy, texture and food functionality, and a training centre.

"I wanted to thank you and your team for the fantastic training event you ran for us and let you know how much we valued the opportunity to gain insight into Sensory Panel Training at Leatherhead. Everyone at Leatherhead made us feel very welcome and went out of their way to offer us a good experience that met our needs."

"I am writing to let you know that the service I received for GI testing this year was excellent. Testing was completed within agreed timescales and the report I received was concise and contained all the relevant information on the methodology."

“I now have clear concepts of good labelling. The training has solved many of the doubts that I had.”

"Oh my word!! Stunning facility. Beautiful surroundings and training rooms that are spacious and welcoming."