The definitive guide to food business courses
Food business training courses place a primary focus on the production and consumption of food products, and on the behaviour of people as consumers.
These courses cover a diverse range of social and scientific topics, such as natural science and food marketing, which allows students to gain an advanced understanding of consumer behaviour and business practices within the food and beverage industry.
They also explore entrepreneurial avenues and essential business skills, such as finance and food safety, for those interested in launching their own food business after they graduate.
Topics you can expect to cover include:
- Ethics and economic decision-making
- Finance
- Sensory evaluation of food
- Microbiology
- Quantitative and qualitative research techniques
- Marketing
- Food industry regulation
- Managerial techniques
What can you expect from food business courses?
Food business courses are aimed at students building their careers within well-established brands of the food industry, or for those looking to begin their own food or beverage-related business – from restaurants to product development.
The following food business courses are carefully constructed to provide students with advanced knowledge and understanding of the practices within food business – including building essential startup skills which ensure graduates are well-equipped to begin their own businesses.
The following courses also involve a wide range of assessment methods to determine your final grade. These include written reports, presentations, team-based projects, exams, and dissertations.
What can you expect from food business courses?
Food business courses are aimed at students building their careers within well-established brands of the food industry, or for those looking to begin their own food or beverage-related business – from restaurants to product development.
The following food business courses are carefully constructed to provide students with advanced knowledge and understanding of the practices within food business – including building essential startup skills which ensure graduates are well-equipped to begin their own businesses.
The following courses also involve a wide range of assessment methods to determine your final grade. These include written reports, presentations, team-based projects, exams, and dissertations.
Food Marketing and Entrepreneurship BSc (Hons)
This food business course offers students a mixture of business and science to enhance their skills and knowledge for work within the fast-moving food and beverage industry.
It provides a unique opportunity for learners to understand the numerous challenges which a business will face, whilst exposing them to critical concepts, theories, and experience of practice – all working to explain how the business world operates.
By nurturing essential skills in innovation and entrepreneurship and building upon the knowledge of food and nutritional sciences, learners will obtain a well-rounded understanding of the dynamic industry.
Learners will also achieve an understanding of consumer market trends and marketing strategies in order to create a successful food business; all while developing assessment skills to understand how viable a business idea truly is.
Core modules include:
- Ethics and economic decision-making for food business
- Economic analysis for food business
- Financial accounting
- Digital food marketing and branding
- Placement preparation plan
- Quantitative research for food
- Food sustainability
- Information systems for the networked enterprise
- Principles of food science and technology
- Topics in food quality and legislation
- Fundamentals of nutrition
- Methods of business statistics
- Market-oriented new food product innovation
- Food market research methods
- Food enterprise management
- Understanding supply chain management
- Science and technology of food systems
- Fundamentals of food packaging
- Food and industrial microbiology
- Enterprise and innovation
- Sensory evaluation for food
Future Food and Culinary Management BSc (Hons)
During learners’ time on this food business course, they will obtain a comprehensive understanding of the food and beverage industry’s most prevalent up-to-date issues.
This food business course is designed to enable students to take a multi-disciplined approach to the food industry. Students will receive a combination of theoretical and practical classes – designed to educate and develop essential culinary skills simultaneously.
Students will gain a general understanding of what sustainability means for food, as well as in-depth knowledge of current and future technology, analytics, and management and leadership skills. This learning includes SMART, designed to create professionals who are Service Minded, have Managerial skills, are Analytical, Responsible and have Technological awareness.
Core modules include:
- Becoming a food professional
- Managing financial information for the culinary professional
- Principles of food microbiology
- Creating the restaurant experience
- Food culture and culinary management
- Talent management and leadership
- Suitable menu design
- Health and nutrition
- Pastry technology and future trends
- Consumer behaviour and ready-meal products
- Suitable confectionary management
- Designing the dining experience
- Suitable food systems
Food Business Management BSc (Hons)
This food business course has been designed to equip graduates with the essential skills required to apply various management practices within the food chain.
This enables graduates to ensure differentiation, improve efficiency within the workplace, and build skills and capabilities within the global goods marketplace and supply chain.
In order to enhance the career prospects of graduates, this food business course develops a variety of key skills to succeed within managerial posts in retailing, purchasing, distribution, sales, and marketing.
This includes skills to make learners strategic decision-makers, effective solution providers, and action plan developers to effectively manage resources.
Core modules include:
- Digital marketing
- Export marketing
- Food enterprise studies
- Food manufacture, safety and quality
- Food packaging technology
- Business economics
- Finance for non-financial managers
- Food packaging design
- Food product design
- Sales management
- Supply chain operations
- Business improvement
- Environmental and quality management
- Food retail environment
- Strategic business management
Food Business and Marketing BSc (Hons)
This food business course is designed to address key challenges within the food industry by developing learners’ essential skills within business management, marketing, and economics.
Students will have the opportunity to apply these skills to live food business problems and, by working as part of a team, they will develop a research proposal designed to address current food issues and present findings to a company.
This offers the opportunity to gain entrepreneurial skills and insight – the ideal experience for someone looking to begin their own food business.
Graduates of this course will leave with a range of specialist and transferable skills such as market and business analysis, quantitative and qualitative research, consumer behaviour, and marketing and business strategy. This is designed to make them employable within key business roles in the food industry and other sectors.
Core modules include:
- Food business
- Fundamentals of business and marketing
- The economic environment
- Research and professional skills for business and marketing
- Global sustainability: challenges and prospects
- Applied marketing and management
- Research methods and data analysis
- Branding theory and practice
- Food choice and regulation
- Consumer attitudes and behaviour
- Digital marketing
- Marketing strategy
- Supply chain management
- Regulation of the food industry
Food Business and Retail Management BSc (Hons)
By covering the key aspects of supply chain management, consumer behaviour, and marketing for the food industry, this food business course will provide the knowledge required to exploit market opportunities. It will also enhance learners’ understanding of the essential activities which are needed to manufacture competition in the food and drinks industry.
The content of this food business course has been specifically aligned with the modern-day needs of the food and beverage industry. Students will investigate and learn how to interpret consumer behaviour to extrapolate trends and discover why people make the choices they do regarding food.
Students will also discover the practical elements of the industry, including supply chain and retail management, people management, accounting studies, media creativity, and marketing. From developing business plans and conducting e-business strategies to understanding consumer rights and law, this course offers a holistic view of a varied value supply chain.
Core modules include:
- Commercial management
- Consumer behaviour analysis
- Strategic marketing
- Retail management
- Supply chain management
Food Business & Innovation MSc
Designed to set graduates up for a dynamic career within the world of food business, this food business course enables students to play a leading role within the analysis of key issues in the food and beverage sector – providing strategic management of the constantly changing industry.
This course reflects the globalised nature of the food industry, allowing learners to expand their knowledge of food, consumers, food innovation, and the core decision-making processes which progress the development, branding, distribution, and selling of food products.
In addition to theoretical learning, students will obtain an essential understanding of practical skills in the industry, designed to equip graduates with highly sought analytical, communication, business, and presentation skills.
Core modules include:
- Strategic food marketing
- Food entrepreneurship and innovation
- Food branding and digital media marketing
- Economics of agri-food markets and value chain analysis
- Category management and food retail marketing
- Sustainable food systems
- Global food policy issues
- Consumer culture and consumer-brand relationships
Food Business Strategy MSc
This comprehensive food business course enables learners to obtain a strategic perspective on doing business within the food and beverage industry, as well as the management techniques, knowledge of current marketing issues, leadership approaches, and global policy demands required for success.
Students will obtain advanced knowledge of the factors which are specific to food, such as the sustainability of food production and the role that innovation can play within this sector.
This food business course also enables learners to understand and appreciate how complex the global environment is, and how this affects food businesses currently operating within this uncertain and risky industry.
Core modules include:
- Food economics
- Supply chain management global food systems
- Customer focused food
- Competitive strategy in global food industry
- Food policy
- Future of food
- Innovation for food business
Food Economics and Marketing MSc
This food business course provides an in-depth insight on how economic and marketing forces affect the decisions of producers, processors, retailers, consumers, and policymakers within the food and beverage industry.
Analysis of these forces is conducted at both an international and domestic level and is designed to enable learners with critical training in core subject areas, such as applied economics, marketing, and quantitative and qualitative research techniques required for success in the food industry.
The structure of this course is designed to provide a diverse range of learning which gives students the information and skills needed to have an impact and be a part of global change.
Core modules include:
- Advanced marketing
- Consumer behaviour and food marketing
- Advertising and branding
- Food policy
- Nudge and behaviour change
- Introductory statistics and econometrics
- Quantitative marketing research methods
Food Business Management MSc
The hospitality sector has seen huge growth in recent years. As it continues to boom the demand for highly skilled employees is also growing to ensure the industry continues to prosper and. This food business course has been designed to equip learners with the essential skills required for success in this industry.
Whilst on this course, students’ studies will focus on the role of the manager, discovering the issues they may face within an international food market; as well as domestic food service and hospitality sectors. Learning will also cover the very latest findings in food research.
Core modules include:
- Business performance analysis
- Responsible value chain management
- Applied food science and product development
- Food and society
- Food service operations analysis
International Agri-Business and Food Chain Management PgC / PgD / MSc
This food business course provides students with an advanced understanding of the challenges and opportunities within the international food and beverage industry.
This course will also offer in-depth knowledge of the principles and practices of contemporary international agri-business management practices, all while developing professionals for work within the agri-food sector.
This will involve teaching the skills and essential learning required for agricultural supply industries, agri-trade industries, agricultural cooperatives, consultancy companies, associations, governments, and other allied organisations.
Core modules include:
- Strategic management for international agri-business
- Principles of finance
- Agri-food supply chain strategy and management
- International business economics
