Norfolk and Suffolk companies have brought a diverse range of innovative new products to market - thanks to grant windfalls.

Norwich-based online training start-up Reuzer and Ipswich fruit and vegetable juice maker James White Drinks scooped Growth Through Innovation Fund grants from New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) back in 2020.

A five-figure grant enabled Reuzer founder Ian Smith and business partner Bobby Burrage to take the plunge and develop an e-learning platform to help companies to train their staff.

James White Drinks - based at Ashbocking and launched by managing director Lawrence Mallinson back in 1992 - was able to develop products for health-conscious consumers including a new powdered version of its Beet It beetroot drink.

Reuzer said the investment had advanced its growth by two years as it targeted the fast-growing global e-learning market.

Ian Smith and Bobby Burrage secured match-funding to launch their business after contacting New Anglia Growth Hub’s business advisers. They also worked with Computer Service Centre (CSC) in Norwich on the project.

The grant helped them develop an online Learning Management System to host bespoke and off-the-shelf content. In 2021, they launched their new e-learning platform called the Reuzer Platform.

“I’d recommend start-ups applying for the grant as you can grow more quickly. We now had a platform in Year 1 and otherwise it would have been Year 3,” said Ian.

“I knew all the pitfalls and requirements from previous experiences and knew it had to be easy to use, optimised for tablets and mobile phones plus very visual.

“We met with CSC a lot, scoped out the work and viewed the development at incremental steps. We supplied all wire frames and they were able to replicate it pixel by pixel. This way they created a new feature every two to three weeks for review.

“We’ve had positive feedback from a client, who usually had five IT issues a week with their previous platform and one or two with us during the first two months of the launch.”

The company's first client was Great Yarmouth-based Seajacks - which operates self-propelled jack-up vessels for the renewables and oil and gas markets. In the first six months, the company completed 1,500 e-learning courses on the Reuzer Platform compared with 120 using another platform.

James White Drinks - which exports products including its Beet It beetroot drink and spicy tomato juice Big Tom to 30 different countries - has launched its new beetroot crystals product into the sports nutrition market.

The LEP funding helped it develop the initial prototype and the team launched a Beet It Sport Nitrate 8000 crystals product in late 2021.

“The product has been enthusiastically received but we’re experiencing storage problems," said Mr Mallinson.

"We’re currently experimenting to overcome this problem and anticipate relaunching with a modified version later this autumn. Due to the storage problems, we’ve been restricted in more widely marketing the product but the enthusiastic response from the limited trialists gives us great confidence in the product’s potential.

“We’re confident that we have now found the solution and can’t wait to get restarted on promoting the Beet IT crystals widely.”

He recommended other companies to apply for the grant "because it’s essential to be thinking about innovation for the future of any business". "This grant encourages you to get on with it,” he said.

To find out about the Growth Through Innovation Fund visit the New Anglia LEP website or contact New Anglia Growth Hub’s business advisers direct on 0300 333 6536 or email growthhub@newangliagrowthhub.co.uk.