BSc (Hons) Food Business Management with Foundation Year
School of Coding & AI in Partnership with Harper Adams University
Course Overview
The BSc (Hons) Food Business Management with Foundation Year, delivered by School of Coding & AI (SOC) in Telford in partnership with Harper Adams University, is designed for aspiring professionals who want to build a rewarding career across the diverse and fast-moving food sector.
Whether your ambition is to work with a major food retailer, global producer, growing food brand or specialist artisan business, this degree will help you develop the business knowledge, practical skills and commercial understanding needed to succeed.
With an integrated approach to food business management, you will explore the unique challenges and opportunities within the food sector while developing valuable transferable skills that can open doors to a wide range of career opportunities.
Your degree begins with a foundation year, designed to help you develop the academic skills, confidence and resilience needed to succeed in Higher Education.
At SOC in Telford, your learning will combine academic knowledge with practical experiences, giving you opportunities to understand how food businesses operate in the real world. You will explore industry challenges, develop solutions to real-world problems and engage with the wider food business community.
| Qualification Title | BSc (Hons) Food Business Management with Foundation Year |
| Level | Undergraduate |
| Awarding body | Harper Adams University |
| Mode of Study | Full-Time |
| Delivery | Classes run seven days a week. Students are required to attend two days per week |
| Duration | 4 Years |
| Intakes | November 2026 |
| Campus | Telford |
Course Structure & Modules
Year 1
- Credits: 20
In this module, you will develop a grounding in the Key Academic Skills vital in Higher Education and future employment, both in literacy and numeracy. These skills involve the ability to communicate in written form as prescribed by Harper Adams University using the appropriate referencing format, based on the ability to search for and evaluate appropriate sources to support your work. In addition, this module aims to consolidate and improve your ability to process and interpret data and present results effectively, thereby improving your confidence in the use of mathematics, statistics and associated software. This module is designed to enable you to develop your skills to feel more confident and competent as you progress through the Foundation Year Programme and advance to the first year of your university degree.
- Credits: 20
This module is designed for students interested in pursuing degrees in food production/management or business management but the principles of food and business that you will learn are highly transferable. You will develop a broad understanding of topics related to these fields, including micro and macro environments, pricing and costings, communications and consumer behaviour, and begin to develop the skills and knowledge needed to apply them sustainably in a real-world context.
You will have the opportunity to work both individually and collaboratively in groups, identifying and solving problems, conducting market research and analysis, and business planning. Alongside the key theories and business practices, you will develop skills in communication, planning, digital literacy as it applies to food and business, teamworking, and many more graduate attributes sought after by employers.
- Credits: 20
Your academic and professional careers will be underpinned by a set of core skills. This module will equip you with a portfolio of vocational, practical and technical skills which will serve you through your academic, social and professional development – including ICT, core subject-related skills and wider personal/professional/interpersonal skills development. Through a blend of mandated workshops and self-selected/self-directed learning experiences, it will provide you with opportunities to reflect on your own skills gaps, strengths and weaknesses.
- Credits: 20
This module is intended to support the early development of critical thinking and synthesis by signposting you toward global challenges that will have a real and current impact on local businesses/organisations and their stakeholders.
You will explore regional and global problems and their impact on global resources, the environment, and human societies. You will identify and explore challenges that may shape organisational Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies, underpinned by sustainable development goals, that will be further studied later in your degree programme.
- Credits: 20
Economics and marketing are the key pillars of any successful business, and a strong understanding of both is essential for any businessperson looking to succeed in today’s competitive market. By combining insights from both fields, businesspeople can develop effective strategies for pricing, marketing, and growth that drive long-term success. You will begin to appreciate how marketers, in the conventional as well as in the digital world, are encouraged to integrate marketing with economics, to create successful and effective business decisions, considering both the micro-economic and macro-economic situation of the globalised world. We will explore the ways that consumers behave and make decisions, how businesses set prices, demand and supply, and the positioning of products and services. You will learn how economics and marketing can help businesses identify new market opportunities and develop effective marketing strategies in a global marketplace.
- Credits: 10
This module aims to support the development of group working skills and capabilities. You will gain an insight into your team working skills through undertaking group activities and tasks. This learning will benefit you both when undertaking group assignments for your degree but also whilst on placement with employers. You will undertake a group challenge which allows you to test your skills in a supportive environment. You will reflect on these experiences in order to develop stronger self-awareness and improve skills for use in your future academic career.
- Credits: 10
This module brings together the academic, vocational and research skills you will have gained across the foundation year, providing an opportunity for students across the programme to apply these skills by researching, creating and presenting an academic poster on a topic related to your intended destination course.
Year 2
- Credits: 20
Business Economics introduces you to the ‘Why?’ of business and commerce and is the foundation for your understanding of the relationship between business and the wider economic environment. It introduces a different perspective on economics, money, wealth, and gives the background and context for the study of business, exploring some of the most important and pressing questions of all; how do we generate wealth and who should benefit? Can we do it fairly and sustainably, and what does this mean for the future of businesses and the world of work?
This module is delivered alongside the module Running a Business to provide the underpinning learning behind the Kickstarter Project where students work in teams to develop solutions for external clients. It runs for the first part of year one and provides an enjoyable, immersive, dynamic mix of learning activity and socialising opportunities.
The delivery and student experience of the Kickstarter Project will be orientated towards the particular degree route. Those studying Agribusiness and Food Business will undertake projects within those subject areas, determined by the external client. Those studying Business Management will have an inherently wider choice.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this module will be able to:
- Explain underlying concepts and principles of economic theories including those of classical economics and emergent thinking, and how these relate to business and organisations.
- Explain the role of Demand and Supply at the microeconomic level along with those of different market structures, and how these relate to businesses and organisations.
- Appraise economy-wide phenomena including inflation,(un)employment, and economic growth and decline.
- Calculate the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the inflation rate.
- Review differences between economic approaches and priorities in the relationship between micro and macroeconomics.
- Credits: 20
This module focuses on the practical side of business management. You will explore how businesses operate day-to-day, including decision-making, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving.
- Credits: 10
This is a module that no student can be without! By the end of the module, you will walk away with the key skills you need for your time at university ‘in the bag’. The module will support you to develop these essential academic skills which you will go on to use repeatedly throughout the duration of your degree programme. It will provide the foundation for all subject-specific assessments and support you to become a more independent learner and develop confidence in your ability to complete the assessment process.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this module will be able to:
- Develop competence and confidence in the use of basic academic skills including academic referencing, business report writing and argument formation.
- Identify appropriate relevant sources, selecting key information required to form a balanced argument.
- Undertake reflective analysis on current academic study skills capability.
- Devise a plan for the development of these skills to maximise learning potential.
- Credits: 20
This module draws on Harper Adams’ network of international partners and stakeholders to show you some the incredible variety of experiences of business and work around the world and in your own home country. You will look at the role and power of different cultures and customs in defining what it means to do business, to be a worker, a manager, an entrepreneur. It will help you to develop a broad and critical worldview, and provide a foundation for your employment in international organisations and contexts.
The main focus for Agribusiness and Food Business students relates your particular degree specialisms to the module content, though you will also look beyond this to give more context and make comparisons. Business Management students will explore widely across the subject area. The particular choice of countries included bewill be determined by the module leader and influenced by the availability of appropriate resources and enrichment activities.
Intended Learning Outcomes:
Students who successfully complete this module will be able to:
- Describe the cultural context of global businesses and organisations
- Communicate effectively in a global business context
- Collaborate in an international business setting
- Apply local knowledge to global business environments.
- Code: HF
- Credits: 20
This module will give you a broad understanding of businesses, organisations and the world or work through an exploration of different industries, their markets and sectors, and how organisations are created and develop within them. It will help you to give you some insight into possibilities for your future career paths and employment.
The main focus for Agribusiness and Food Business students is on industries and markets linked to your particular degree specialisms and their supply chains, though you will also look beyond this to give more context and make comparisons. Business Management students will explore markets and organisations across a wide range of industries which may in technology, energy, entertainment, construction, finance, tourism, aerospace, etc. The particular choice will be determined by the module leader and influenced by the availability of appropriate resources and enrichment activities.
- Code: HF
- Credits: 20
Work forms a significant part of our lives; it is important that we are able to manage our wellbeing at work, and that our work is meaningful to us. In this module, you will look at the factors that affect people at work in a range of environments. You will review the laws, practices and approaches that can help to maintain employee wellbeing and productivity.
You will consider some basic employment legislation which employers have to follow. You will also look at examples of employers who do more than the minimum, and consider whether this benefits the business, their employees, and levels of wellbeing and productivity in the workplace.
You will develop an understanding of how to look after your own wellbeing when at work. You will consider how to support other people in the workplace too.
The main focus for Agribusiness Management and Food Business Management students is on how the module content relates to your particular degree specialisms, though you will also look beyond this to give more context and make comparisons. Business Management students will explore more widely across a range of contexts. The particular choice will be determined by the module leader and influenced by the availability of appropriate resources and enrichment activities.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this module will be able to:
- Determine the factors that can affect employee wellbeing and productivity, for themselves and others, and summarise examples of these factors in the workplace.
- Identify and explain a range of business challenges currently affecting employers and employees, with critical consideration of potential solutions.
- Evaluate how to manage their own wellbeing, and that of others, in the workplace.
- Explain the basic employment laws that can help to protect employees and employers.
- Credits: 10
A range of enrichment activities and events will be arranged throughout the year that will help you to develop a wider and deeper perspective of the things that you learn on your course. This will help you to develop an idea of your own potential, the appeal of different career paths, and the potential of the world of business and organisations. The activities may include guest speakers, off-site visits, business simulations, skills-based games and challenges, short-courses and small-group learning. The particular choice will be determined by the module leader and availability.
This module comprises part of the students’ academic and professional development programme.
Students who successfully complete this module will be able to:
- Find personal value in the enrichment activities with which they have engaged.
- Identify opportunities and activities for personal development.
- Identify opportunities and activities for career development.
Year 3
- Credits: 20
This module focuses on understanding customers and developing practical business skills. You will learn how to create customer profiles, design marketing campaigns, deliver sales pitches, and negotiate with clients and partners through team-based projects.
- Credits: 20
This module puts Food Science and Innovation into the context of the food supply chain and consumer markets. You will learn to apply techniques in marketing research in order to effectively research and understand consumer markets. Evaluating the food retail environment helps you to implement your product development strategies from other modules. This module enables you to create and implement marketing communications campaigns. The techniques and knowledge learned in this module will also contribute to your academic and professional development.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this module will be able to:
- Develop strategies for effective food marketing from manufacturers and processors through to consumer-facing retailers.
- Devise and implement consumer research using contemporary tools to inform and underpin product development strategies.
- Create marketing campaign briefs and execute brand and communications media.
- Apply effective digital tools for managing team processes and creative output in marketing operations.
- Credits: 20
Food innovation and new product development (NPD) is an important process for the food industry to retain and attract new consumers. In this module you will follow the process of NPD, developing a concept product which incorporates current food and consumer trends. Working as a team, you will be guided through the process of generating the concept product, taking into consideration the evaluation of target consumers, sensory evaluations, raw materials, food safety and packaging. Consideration will also be given to nutrition and food law legislation key aspects such as labelling. You may wish to take on a specific role within the team to help plan an appropriate concept. The role will be dependent on the specialism of your degree route.
The module will give you a hands-on food development experience, resulting in the development of a product concept.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this module will be able to:
- Articulate an understanding of the innovation process when developing a food product from the ideas stage to market launch.
- Evaluate the implications of the raw material functionalities and food safety when developing a new product.
- Identify the needs of the target consumer, food and market trends and how this influences the concept idea.
- Apply appropriate sensory evaluation methodology to the concept development process and explain how this influences change.
- Ensure the final product concept adheres to current nutritional and labelling guidelines.
- Credits: 20
Whatever your future aspirations, you will be working with people in your career. This module will equip you to understand what motivates people and what that tells us about how to manage others, and yourself, more effectively to deliver business solutions.
In this module, the study of factors such as leadership and management, communication skills, teamwork, business practices and employment law will help you develop your skills as a manager. This will include consideration of developing working practices, international and cultural influences and environments, and recent changes in business and technology.
You will also consider how to manage yourself to develop a deeper understanding of your work preferences and behaviours. This will support you in your preparation for placement and your career.
This module comprises part of the students’ Harper Forward academic and professional development programme.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this module will be able to:
- Demonstrate skills and capability in people management.
- Evaluate the purpose of people management in the wider context of employment.
- Review the effectiveness of people management principles in the workplace.
- Self-evaluate their readiness for work (or placement as appropriate), demonstrating an understanding of challenges that might arise, and potential solutions.
- Code: SOC
- Credits: 20
A wide range of food processing methods are used by the food industry today and food professionals should possess a competent understanding of the principal methods of manufacture, as well as an appreciation of new and innovative methods of processing.
- Credits: 20
This module allows you to investigate a real business problem related to digital business management. With guidance from a supervisor, you will conduct research, analyse findings, and present your results in a structured report.
Year 4
- Code: HF
- Credits: 20
This module aims to define what businesses are doing to adopt a more sustainable approach to business management. Students will examine a number of case studies, which will attempt to demonstrate how individual businesses are aligning their activities to address global sustainability challenges such as climate change, carbon reduction, energy and water scarcity and poverty reduction. This module also explores the subject of business ethics and the related concept of corporate social responsibility. The module assesses the business need for ethical practice and examines the strategies through which ethical practices can become embedded. More practically, it is anticipated that students will be able to apply ethical theory and moral reasoning to successful sustainable management decision-making.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this module will be able to:
Appraise the major business environmental, economic and social factors and the extent to which these have an influence on the management of organisations
Assess the impact of ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility on the management of organisations operating in an international environment
Evaluate the alternative sustainable systems and management strategies for risk management adopted by organisations operating in the international environment.
- Credits: 20
Integrated Global Business is delivered in conjunction with the module that follows it, Strategic Leadership, to provide the underpinning learning behind the Capstone Project.
Integrated Global Business facilitates the student’s learning of the dynamics and relationships required for effective international business and commerce. It covers the foundations such as investment, finance and economics, as well as the operational aspects of managing in international contexts. It completes the journey that you started in year one, facilitating your development into a confident manager with a global outlook, aware of the human, cultural and functional elements of
The linked module Strategic Leadership concerns the actioning of proposed solutions and the development of the personal skills required to become a capable leader.
For the Capstone Project students must work in teams to develop solutions for external clients with an international focus. It runs for the whole of year four and is intended to provide an immersive and dynamic mix of enrichment activity and experiential learning. Where the first-year Kickstarter Project was an introduction to the fundamentals of business, the Capstone Project requires complex and integrated strategic decision-making across a comprehensive range of business functions and operations. The activity is undertaken in teams, and students are assessed both for group work and individually.
The delivery and student experience of the Capstone Project will be orientated towards the particular degree route. Those studying Agribusiness Management and Food Business Management will undertake projects within those subject areas, determined by the external client. Those studying Business Management will have an inherently wider choice.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this module will be able to:
- Develop and evaluate strategies for international and global business.
- Critically appraise the suitability and appropriateness of international markets and associated business relationships.
- Apply the principles of international finance and economics to business planning and activities.
- Rationalise the integration of diverse organisational functions in the successful operation of an international business.
- Demonstrate cultural and political awareness, effective communication,stakeholder management and self-management in international relationships.
- Credits: 20
This module focuses on strategic thinking and leadership in business. You will develop the skills needed to turn business strategies into action and lead teams effectively.
- Credits: 20
This module will introduce and embed the skills and understanding required for successful entrepreneurship and the launch and development of new businesses and enterprises. The skills and qualities required of entrepreneurs are also highly valued by established businesses and this module makes that explicit link.
It is intended to support you in exploring a business idea with the goal to find out if the idea is a feasible business opportunity for you and allows you to apply this knowledge and develop or enhance your skills in research, pitching and presentation skills, in written and verbal form. These skills are essential for starting and running a business in as much as for working independently within an organisation as a manager.
In this module, you will explore the role of entrepreneurship and small business management with the view of sustainable growth. You will investigate and explore how organisations form, then how they begin to evolve.
Finally, you will examine how the organisations, their customers and key stakeholders may change as organisations grow to become long-term sustainable businesses. As part of the learning experience, you will investigate real-life enterprises which are early in their growth to explore: how they started? What were the challenges? How will they grow? It will be an exciting journey and build upon the experience of your placement year.
- Code: HF
- Credits: 40
The dissertation is designed to allow you to develop the skills and personal resilience needed to undertake a sustained, significant and high-quality research project. In conjunction with a supervisor, and in light of detailed course-specific advice, you will select a topic for investigation. You will then plan, execute, report and present your project. The module will draw upon learning from other taught modules, but it also requires a high degree of independent learning.
You will need to apply your learning about the research methods associated with your discipline as you locate data to support your project; you may need to apply methods creatively according to the nature of your research topic. Throughout the module, you will be expected to make choices about the scale and manageability of your work; you will also need to apply good time management skills to ensure success. The project will require you to search for literature related to your topic and to read independently. You must make decisions about the direction of your research, and you will be expected to work proactively to benefit from supervision opportunities.
You will be expected to ensure that each part of your project is ethically sound; this means following protocols but also by developing an ethical mindset which is sensitive to stakeholders and issues arising in the research process. You must also ensure that you attend to issues of health and safety throughout your research.
Fees Structure
Course fees: £9,790pa
Fees are subject to confirmation and may be reviewed in line with the requirements of the academic partner. Students should check the latest published fee information from our staff before applying.
Entry Requirements
Applicants Under 21
- Must be at least 17½ years old at entry.
- 6 GCSEs at grade C/4 or above, including English Language, Mathematics and Science.
- If you hold a Level 3 qualification such as A Level or BTEC, 5 GCSEs at grade C/4 or above, including English Language, Mathematics and Science.
All qualifications must be completed before application.
Applicants Aged 21+
Applications are assessed through an interview and assessment day, taking into account your experience, background and suitability for the course.
Benefits
Studying Food Business Management gives you the opportunity to combine your interest in one of the world’s most important industries with highly transferable business and management skills.
At School of Coding & AI, in partnership with Harper Adams University, the programme offers:
- Specialist Food Business Knowledge: Understand the unique commercial environment of the food sector and the organisations operating within it.
- Business & Management Skills: Develop knowledge of business planning, management, marketing and commercial decision-making.
- Practical Learning: Put your knowledge into action through projects, challenges and applied activities.
- Industry Awareness: Explore real-world issues affecting food businesses and understand how organisations respond to changing markets.
- Employability Skills: Build communication, teamwork, leadership, creativity and problem-solving capabilities valued by employers.
- Career Flexibility: Gain a combination of business and food-sector knowledge that can support careers across the wider food supply chain.
The course is designed to help you become more than a graduate with a degree. It aims to help you become a confident, commercially aware professional who understands how ideas can be transformed into successful businesses.
Future Career
Food is a vast global industry with career opportunities extending across manufacturing, retail, distribution, marketing, entrepreneurship and the wider supply chain.
Graduates can explore a wide range of career pathways, including:
- Food Business Manager: Support the strategic and commercial management of food businesses.
- Food Marketing Executive: Develop campaigns and strategies to connect food brands with consumers.
- Retail Manager: Help manage food retail operations, teams, products and customer experiences.
- Food Buyer: Identify products and suppliers while considering consumer demand, quality and commercial performance.
- Business Development Executive: Identify opportunities for business growth, partnerships and new markets.
- Sales Executive: Build commercial relationships and support the growth of food products and services.
FAQs
Food Business Management combines business and management education with an understanding of the food sector. You will explore how food businesses operate, compete, market products, respond to consumers and identify opportunities for growth.
The course is ideal for students who are interested in food and want to understand the business behind the products people buy and consume. It can also suit students interested in marketing, retail, entrepreneurship, management and the wider food supply chain.
No. The degree is designed to develop your knowledge and skills progressively. You do not need to have previously worked in the food industry to explore a career in food business management.
Yes. The programme has an applied focus, with opportunities to work on projects, team challenges, research and real-world business problems. Harper Adams describes the course as combining academic and practical learning with engagement with successful food businesses and industry experts.
Graduates can explore opportunities across food manufacturing, retail, marketing, business development, sales, supply chain management, food brands and entrepreneurship. The combination of business and food-sector knowledge can also provide flexibility to work across different parts of the food industry.
