Facilities and equipment
Specialist facilities for nutrition, health and performance research and innovation
Specialist facilities for nutrition, health and performance research
Our facilities are designed to help organisations generate robust evidence, evaluate products and deliver research efficiently, whether you're developing a food product, testing a nutritional supplement or investigating health and performance outcomes
Nutrition training kitchen
Our specialist training kitchen features 16 fully equipped workstations alongside demonstration and presentation facilities.
The space can support:
- food and nutrition research
- product development activities
- professional training
- community engagement programmes
- therapeutic diet education
The facility is also used by organisations delivering education, product demonstrations and stakeholder engagement events.
Metabolic assessment suite
Our metabolic assessment facilities support human intervention studies and clinical nutrition research.
Capabilities include:
- body composition assessment
- anthropometric measurements
- blood sample collection
- participant consultation space
- biological sample processing and storage
These facilities enable detailed investigation of how foods, ingredients and supplements influence health and physiology.
Sensory analysis suite
Our purpose-built sensory facility includes a focus group room and eight individual testing booths.
The facility supports:
- consumer testing
- sensory evaluation
- product comparison studies
- appetite regulation research
- cognitive assessment
Digital data collection and controlled lighting environments enable robust and repeatable consumer research.
Preparation kitchen and research laboratories
Industry-standard preparation and laboratory facilities support intervention studies and food research projects.
Capabilities include:
- food preparation and storage
- preparation of supplements and study products
- freeze drying and food processing
- biological sample analysis
- nutritional status assessment
- laboratory testing and sample storage
These facilities provide the infrastructure required for rigorous product and nutrition research.
Extreme environments laboratory
This state-of-the-art facility allows researchers to simulate challenging environmental conditions.
The laboratory can simulate and support:
- temperatures ranging from -25°C to +50°C
- altitude simulation up to 8,750 metres
- environmental performance testing
- exercise physiology research
- expedition and competition preparation
The facility enables detailed investigation of physiological responses to environmental stress.
Performance testing laboratory
Our performance laboratory supports both research and consultancy projects.
Assessments include:
- aerobic fitness and VO₂ max testing
- energy expenditure
- metabolic efficiency
- fuel utilisation
- resting metabolic rate
- lactate profiling
The laboratory is equipped with specialist treadmills, cycle ergometers, rowing machines and metabolic analysis systems.
Biomechanics and gait laboratory
One of the largest instrumented biomechanics spaces in the UK, this facility enables detailed analysis of human movement.
Capabilities include:
- motion capture
- force plate analysis
- gait assessment
- muscle activation measurement
- movement modelling
- injury and performance analysis
The facility supports projects focused on performance optimisation, rehabilitation and human movement research.
Facilities backed by expertise
Accessing facilities and equipment is only part of the story.
The real value of a research facility isn't the equipment. It's the expertise behind it.
We combine specialist facilities with experienced researchers and technicians who can help you to design studies, solve technical challenges and generate meaningful evidence. From sensory evaluation and nutrition trials to performance testing and metabolic assessment, we bring together the people, infrastructure and insight needed to answer complex research questions.
Explore facilities that you can access
The Nutrition Training Kitchen consists of 16 work stations each with an oven and set of induction hobs.
The kitchen can support specialist chef training and new food product development.
The metabolic assessment suite supports human intervention studies through participant testing, physiological measurements, body composition assessment and biological sample collection
Anthropometric assessment in the metabolic assessment suite
The sensory analysis suite is a purpose built facility comprising a focus group room and eight individually vented closed booths supplied by an industry standard preparation kitchen.
The preparation kitchen supports food-related research, intervention trials and sensory studies. Industry-standard facilities enable the safe preparation, storage and processing of foods and supplements.
The research labs support the analysis of biological, food and nutritional samples, enabling activities such as nutritional status assessment, biomarker analysis, genomics research and sample preparation.
The Extreme Environments Laboratory enables researchers to investigate how the body responds to challenging conditions, simulating temperatures from -25°C to +50°C and altitudes of up to 8750m.
The performance testing laboratory supports research and consultancy projects across health, exercise and sport. Using specialist equipment, researchers can assess physiological and metabolic response.
Using specialist equipment including cycle ergometers, respiratory gas analysis systems and blood sampling technologies, researchers can measure aerobic fitness, energy expenditure, fuel utilisation and more.
The biomechanics and gait laboratory provides one of the largest instrumented movement analysis spaces in the UK. It supports detailed assessment of human movement, combining advanced data capture and analytics
Equipped with a 34-camera motion capture system, force plates, electromyography and inertial measurement technologies, the facility enables detailed analysis and visualisation of human movement.