Skip to content Skip to Search
Skip navigation

Food & Drink

Food & drink news from the Middle East. All the important stories, exclusive interviews, plus authoritative opinion and analysis

Food & Drink overview

Food & Drink news

ADNH Catering provides food and support services in the UAE and through a joint venture in Saudi Arabia with Compass Group

Abu Dhabi National Hotels launches IPO of catering unit

Abu Dhabi National Hotels (ADNH) said it will float a 40 percent stake in its catering unit, or 900 million shares, on the local stock exchange.   The final offer price, determined through a book-building process, will be announced on October 16. The sharia-compliant ADNH Catering shares sold are owned by ADNH, which trades on […]

Alshaya Group, one of the Gulf’s largest franchise owners, is expected to resume discussions about Starbucks next year if the situation improves

Kuwait’s Alshaya delays Starbucks franchise stake sale

Kuwait’s Alshaya Group is “not in a hurry” to sell a stake in its Starbucks regional franchise due to the ongoing geopolitical unrest and boycotts, which is affecting its valuation, according to a news report. Discussions are expected to resume next year “if the situation improves”, Reuters reported, citing informed sources. The company, one of […]

Almost half of all Turkish accommodation and food service providers took advantage of IT, up from 36 percent in 2022

Shortage of IT specialists slows Turkish business growth

A shortage of trained IT specialists is slowing Turkish companies’ growth and their development of artificial intelligence applications, according to a new report.  The report, issued by Turkey’s state statistics agency Turkstat, found some sectors had a strong uptake of ecommerce sales and services. Almost half of all accommodation and food service providers took advantage […]

Around 3.5 million bottles of Champagne were shipped to the Gulf states in 2023, an increase of about 40 percent

Champagne shipments to the Gulf slow but still flowing

The growth in champagne shipments to the Gulf has slowed in recent years but the market is still one of the strongest in the world, bucking a global trend for declining sales. Around 3.5 million bottles of champagne were shipped to the Gulf states in 2023, an increase of about 40 percent, according to data […]

Cristiano Ronaldo is the official brand ambassador for Talabat. The company's enterprise value is estimated to exceed $6bn

Three banks shortlisted for Talabat’s Dubai listing

Three banks have been picked to proceed with the proposed listing of food delivery service Talabat on the Dubai Financial Market. Emirates NBD Bank, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co. will work on the initial public offering (IPO), Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. However, the sources said that final decisions on […]

Oman says its food-unit merger will lead to high-quality products, cost efficiency and effective decision-making

Oman wealth fund begins merger of food units

Oman has initiated a merger between two state-run entities to support its food security sector. Oman Investment Authority, the sultanate’s sovereign wealth fund, has begun the initial process of merging Oman Food Investment Holding Co (Nitaj) and Fisheries Development Oman, the state-run Oman News Agency reported. The move is intended to lead to high-quality products, […]

Talabat was launched 20 years ago in Kuwait, and now operates in eight countries across the Mena region

Talabat food delivery service prepares for Dubai IPO

The food delivery company Talabat is to list on the Dubai Financial Market this year, 20 years after it was founded. The business, which operates in eight countries across the Middle East and North Africa, will pursue an initial public offering in the fourth quarter, according to a filing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange from […]

Gulf shoppers want more chilled foods – and are also turning to grocery delivery services that depend on cold storage

Cold storage in hot demand across the Gulf

Demand for chilled and frozen foods is rising across the Gulf, driving growth in the region’s cold chain infrastructure. Maersk, the Danish logistics company, says this demand – along with food security concerns – motivated it to open its first UAE cold store at Dubai Industrial City last summer. Population growth and concerns around climate […]

Starbucks Middle East

Starbucks increases Middle East outlets despite Gaza boycott calls

Starbucks has expanded its presence in the Middle East over the past year, despite ongoing boycott calls due to the Gaza conflict.  The total number of Starbucks outlets in the region rose by approximately 7 percent, from 1,870 to 1,997, according to the company’s data. The largest expansion came in Saudi Arabia, adding 55 new […]

Gulf hospitality recruitment

Recruitment a sticking point for Gulf hospitality

The tourism industry is expected to support the creation of thousands of jobs in the UAE and wider GCC this year, yet hospitality firms might struggle to fill many of these vacancies. Heightened competition, the physical and emotional intensity of the work, and more flexible professional alternatives are among the factors luring prospective staff in […]

Shop, Shopping Mall, Indoors

Americana scales back fast-food openings as profit drops again

Americana Restaurants International, the Mena franchise owner for KFC, Pizza Hut and Hardee’s, has scaled back its growth plans for this year after another drop in profits. The Saudi-UAE company reported a 41 percent slump in net profit to $52 million for the second quarter of the year, as Mena diners turn their backs on […]

Shelf, Box, Accessories

ADIA consortium in $5bn bid for Indian snack maker Haldiram’s

A consortium that includes Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is planning a Rs400 billion ($4.8 billion) bid to acquire a majority stake in Haldiram’s, an Indian snack maker, according to a media report. The ADIA deal, if finalised, will value Haldiram’s at INR700 to 780 billion ($8.4 to $9.3 billion), Moneycontrol.com, an Indian business portal, reported, quoting […]

Saudi restaurants

Jadwa buys 60% of Saudi chain Tikkaway Restaurants

Jadwa Investment is acquiring a majority stake in the Saudi fast-food chain Tikkaway Restaurants for an undisclosed sum. The Riyadh-based investment management company acquired a 60 percent stake in Tikkaway through its food and beverage opportunities fund. The homegrown restaurant chain has 20 branches and plans to expand to more than 40 outlets across the […]

Nine in 10 Saudi food shoppers look for produce that was sourced locally

Saudi shoppers heavily favour local produce

Saudi shoppers heavily favour local produce over imported foodstuffs and have a high interest in the use of artificial intelligence in food shopping, a new survey has found. It also described the Saudi supermarket sector as a huge opportunity for discount retailers.  The Customer Perception Map by global consultancy Oliver Wyman, which included Saudi Arabia […]

Earlier this year Agthia raised its stake in Egyptian snack group Auf

Agthia enters Saudi protein market with $25m facility

The UAE’s food and beverages group Agthia is expanding its presence in Saudi Arabia, the largest economy in the GCC. The Abu Dhabi-listed company, which is majority owned by the Abu Dhabi government through the state investor ADQ, has opened a new AED90 million ($24.5 million) protein manufacturing facility in Jeddah to support growing demands […]

Garden, Nature, Outdoors

Bids open for Saudi ‘coffee city’ in production drive

Saudi Arabia has opened bids for coffee producers to acquire lots in an area of the southwestern Al-Baha region that is intended to be the country’s first “coffee city”. The country aims to become a major coffee producer alongside the likes of Brazil.  The area set aside for coffee bush planting is in the mountainous […]