It’s been more than three years since we established our presence in Saudi Arabia, witnessing and playing our part in accompanying one of the world’s most inspiring and transformative journeys towards vision 2030. Each and every industry is being injected with its dose of innovation, and the food industry is no exception – as demonstrated by this year’s Saudi Food Expo.

The event gathered close to a thousand F&B brands from 60 countries exhibiting their latest products to target businesses and consumers alike.

Beyond conventional brands, the healthy food industry was well represented in Saudi Food Expo, clearly digging its way into the local market: from vegan SKUs to Keto soft drinks and planet friendly farming companies.

Food technology was also part of the conversation, with companies offering product traceability via QR codes that can be placed on food items, detailing their journey from field to fork. Agritech businesses are thus slowly but surely penetrating the KSA market, which has long been known as more traditional. This is further strengthened by the fact that most exhibitors were from the region. In this vein, local and regional commodity-based products such as rice and flour, which is mainly due to the recent privatization of this sector and a response to the geopolitical situation and its repercussions on global production.

In a market where yearly consumption of meat and chicken per capita is around 45Kg and the penetration of established western Agritech companies (such as Impossible Food, Indigo, Rootwave) is still shy, this event is but one of the many examples that come to show the land of opportunities that is Saudi Arabia for food brands that want to shake the food industry.

And we’re stoked to watch it happen!