Who is the programme for?
- For companies whose project field is the food industry
- Companies registered in the Estonian Business Register can participate in the program, regardless of their size or length of operation. The participating company must not be in financial difficulty.
The amount of support ranges from €150,000 to €1,500,000.
The support rate is 25–80%, depending on the size of the company and the nature of the activities (de minimis aid: 80%).
What kind of projects are we expecting?
- Research and Development for the Valorization of Co-products, By-products, and Production Residues in Food Production
- Research and development for the sustainable valorization of food raw materials, including:
– Sustainable valorization of plant-based and animal-based raw materials
– Research and development in the field of future and novel foods
– Research and development for the development of innovative and sustainable solutions in food and feed production - Research and development to ensure food safety and quality
What qualifies for a grant?
Proportion of applied research grant depending on the size of the company:
- 70% (small business)
- 60% (medium business)
- 50% (large business)
Proportion of applied research grant depending on the size of the company in the context of effective cooperation:
- 80% (small)
- 75% (medium)
- 65% (large)
Proportion of experimental development grant depending on the size of the company:
- 45% (small)
- 35% (medium)
- 25% (large)
Proportion of experimental development grant depending on the size of the company in the context of effective cooperation:
- 60% (small)
- 50% (medium)
- 40% (large)
We will grant support for conducting feasibility studies as a preliminary step for conducting applied research or developing products. Grants are only given to feasibility studies that precede applied research or experimental development activities.
- 70% (small)
- 60% (medium)
- 50% (large)
The percentage of support for this grant is 50% if support is applied under GBER (applies for SMEs only) or 80% if support is applied under de minimis aid (applies to all enterprises).
The Research and Innovation Programme has been certified as an EIC Accelerator Plug-In, which significantly simplifies the EIC application process. The EIC Accelerator supports high-risk and high-impact development activities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Successful RUP projects can be further developed by submitting a full application to the EIC after our assessment. A short pre-advice is required to participate in the Plug-In programme.
Contact: [email protected]
Preliminary consultation
Participation in the Applied Research Program requires mandatory pre-consultation.
During the pre-consultation, you will receive feedback on the content of your project and its compliance with technical requirements. You will also receive suggestions on how to improve and further develop the project. Additionally, the consultation will determine whether an international expert review is necessary.
Register for the pre-consultation via the “Preliminary Consultations” button at the top of the page.
During the pre-consultation, the project plan is prepared in collaboration between the entrepreneur and an expert from the Applied Research Program (ARP).
Pre-consultation means that the ARP consultant has gained a sufficiently good understanding of the project and has had time to provide comments and recommendations on the project plan.
The pre-consultation includes both technological and business plan guidance.
The ARP consultant considers the pre-consultation complete when they are confident that the project is prepared to a quality level that allows for successful implementation and that the project documentation meets ARP requirements.
Pre-consultation involves interaction between the entrepreneur and the ARP consultant, allowing enough time for in-depth discussion on the feasibility of both the technology and the business plan.
Preliminary Evaluation
Applying for support from the Applied Research Program (ARP) for food sector projects takes place in two stages:
First, the project must be submitted for pre-evaluation no later than 15 September 2025.
After receiving a positive pre-evaluation from the ARP committee, the support application can be submitted (no later than 3 October 2025 at 16:00).
Submitting an application
The application can be compiled and submitted in the online E-toetus environment, after completing the mandatory preliminary consultation and mandatory preliminary assessment.
The call of applications is open from 28.07.2025 at 9:00 to 03.10.2025 at 16:00.
Application documents are being prepared.
Project plan
Budget form
Economic indicator table
The applicant’s confirmation of the start-up company’s compliance with the requirements
Confirmation of the applicant’s compliance with the requirements of the scale-up company
Group membership scheme (if the applicant is a part of a group and the group’s data is not viewable in the business registry) (in Estonian)
Power of attorney sample (if the signatory of the application is not a representative of the applicant)
Instruction for determining level of technical preparedness in projects
Evaluation of applications
The applications will be assessed by experts and the assessment committee.
They will look at all relevant materials and perform an assessment of the project. The assessment will be based on the contents of the project as well as other data that is available in public databases.
Additional information may be requested if necessary. Enterprise Estonia will make the decision to fund or not fund the project based on the recommendations of the assessment committee. You will be notified in writing when a decision has been made.
Read about the application assessment method:
Assessment methodology (is being prepared)
Project implementation
- Support recipients must declare their research and development activity in their yearly report collected by Statistics Estonia.
- If the applying company purchases research and development services, the service providers can only be companies and scientific organisations that have references acknowledged in their field. The service provider can be from Estonia or from a foreign country.
Detailed terms of the grant are provided in the grant regulations:
Reporting
Submit your project reports and requests for payment through the online E-toetus (e-grant) system.
We are always here to help you with any questions!
How to apply?
Participation in the Applied Research Program requires mandatory pre-consultation.
During the pre-consultation, you will receive feedback on the content of your project and its compliance with technical requirements. You will also receive suggestions on how to improve and further develop the project. Additionally, the consultation will determine whether an international expert review is necessary.
Register for the pre-consultation via the “Preliminary Consultations” button at the top of the page.
During the pre-consultation, the project plan is prepared in collaboration between the entrepreneur and an expert from the Applied Research Program (ARP).
Pre-consultation means that the ARP consultant has gained a sufficiently good understanding of the project and has had time to provide comments and recommendations on the project plan.
The pre-consultation includes both technological and business plan guidance.
The ARP consultant considers the pre-consultation complete when they are confident that the project is prepared to a quality level that allows for successful implementation and that the project documentation meets ARP requirements.
Pre-consultation involves interaction between the entrepreneur and the ARP consultant, allowing enough time for in-depth discussion on the feasibility of both the technology and the business plan.
Applying for support from the Applied Research Program (ARP) for food sector projects takes place in two stages:
First, the project must be submitted for pre-evaluation no later than 15 September 2025.
After receiving a positive pre-evaluation from the ARP committee, the support application can be submitted (no later than 3 October 2025 at 16:00).
The application can be compiled and submitted in the online E-toetus environment, after completing the mandatory preliminary consultation and mandatory preliminary assessment.
The call of applications is open from 28.07.2025 at 9:00 to 03.10.2025 at 16:00.
Application documents are being prepared.
Project plan
Budget form
Economic indicator table
The applicant’s confirmation of the start-up company’s compliance with the requirements
Confirmation of the applicant’s compliance with the requirements of the scale-up company
Group membership scheme (if the applicant is a part of a group and the group’s data is not viewable in the business registry) (in Estonian)
Power of attorney sample (if the signatory of the application is not a representative of the applicant)
Instruction for determining level of technical preparedness in projects
The applications will be assessed by experts and the assessment committee.
They will look at all relevant materials and perform an assessment of the project. The assessment will be based on the contents of the project as well as other data that is available in public databases.
Additional information may be requested if necessary. Enterprise Estonia will make the decision to fund or not fund the project based on the recommendations of the assessment committee. You will be notified in writing when a decision has been made.
Read about the application assessment method:
Assessment methodology (is being prepared)
- Support recipients must declare their research and development activity in their yearly report collected by Statistics Estonia.
- If the applying company purchases research and development services, the service providers can only be companies and scientific organisations that have references acknowledged in their field. The service provider can be from Estonia or from a foreign country.
Detailed terms of the grant are provided in the grant regulations:
Submit your project reports and requests for payment through the online E-toetus (e-grant) system.
We are always here to help you with any questions!
Assistance for applicant
Ene Viiard
Applied Research Program TA Expert (Food Technology)
ene.viiard[at]eis.ee
+372 5353 7139
For a comprehensive overview of the Food Resource Valorisation field roadmap, see here:
Find more information about the previous projects and the grants they received here
Funded projects database