South West College & Invest Northern Ireland Support Local Business Wyse Bites
Wise Bites was established to support parents navigating the challenges of fussy eating, particularly within families of neurodivergent children. As demand for flexible and accessible support grew, founder Joanna identified the opportunity to develop a digital learning programme that could reach more families and deliver practical guidance through engaging online content.
However, like many small businesses, Wyse Bites faced significant barriers to innovation. Developing a high-quality, media-rich online curriculum required specialist skills in digital learning design, content development, video production, and technology platforms. Without an in-house research and development function, the business lacked the technical expertise and resources needed to bring the concept to life.
Joanna needed access to knowledge, guidance, and technical capability to transform her vision into a scalable digital product.
The Solution
Connected NI provided the support to South West College to reach out to Joanna and help her take that critical first step in her innovation journey, helping introduce innovative thinking and structured development processes into the business.
Through this engagement, Joanna gained the confidence and understanding required to pursue further innovation support through an Invest NI Innovation Voucher, which South West College (SWC) supported her through the application process.
Invest NI plays a central role through its Innovation Vouchers programme:
Funding & Access to Knowledge Providers: Invest NI provides the Innovation Vouchers initiative to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) develop their innovation projects. It enables businesses to access and collaborate with publicly funded knowledge providers, including further education colleges, universities, and institutes of technology.
Moving Up the "Innovation Escalator": While initial support (like Connected) engages businesses early, the Invest NI Innovation Voucher acts as the next critical step. In the case of Wyse Bites, receiving the voucher gave Joanna the backing to move from concept to full project execution.
Bridging the R&D Gap: Invest NI’s voucher program directly addresses the challenge that small businesses lack internal Research & Development teams. By funding the partnership with the college, Invest NI enabled Wyse Bites to receive the technical expertise and background R&D needed to build an online curriculum for parents of neurodivergent children.
Economic Impact: By financing these collaborative projects, Invest NI helps elevate local business offerings, driving long-term growth both for the individual enterprise and the wider regional economy.
This collaborative approach enabled Wyse Bites to access skills and capabilities that would otherwise have been unavailable to a small business.
The Impact
The project successfully transformed an innovative idea into a practical digital learning solution designed specifically for parents of neurodivergent children and picky eaters.
By combining Joanna's subject expertise with SWC's technical knowledge, the partnership delivered a professional online curriculum while simultaneously building innovation capability within the business.
advanced innovation activity. By connecting Joanna with the right expertise and funding opportunities, Connected helped turn a promising concept into a scalable digital learning solution.
The project demonstrates how targeted innovation support can empower small businesses to access specialist knowledge, overcome technical barriers, and develop new products that create both commercial and social impact.
Through Connected NI and the Invest NI Innovation Voucher programme, Wyse Bites successfully transformed an innovative idea into a scalable digital solution, expanding its reach and increasing its impact on families across Northern Ireland and beyond.