UAE's Food and Beverage Manufacturing Business Group (FBMG) is set to organise a series of meetings and workshops with representatives and decision makers from sub sectors within the F&B field to build a collaborative network between all stakeholders.
 
The roundtables are set to be held in the second and third weeks of this month, with sub sectors taking turns and holding their meeting on different days, said a statement.

The workshops, meanwhile, are slated to take place in early February and facilitated by experts from Nielsen as well as UAE Food Platform architects, it said.
 
The meetings complement the group’s efforts to address the challenges faced by the regional F&B sector by consolidating input from entities within the sector, in addition to securing support from authorities.

The FBMG is striving to establish the UAE as the food and beverage manufacturing hub of the region. To that end, the group has taken a two-step approach, consisting first of gathering and storing reliable data (as with the Food Industry Report, among others), then of fostering collaboration between all sector stakeholders, it added.
 
Saleh Abdullah Lootah, chairman of FBMG, said: “The food and beverage sector is a robust and vibrant economic grouping with considerable clout in the market.”

“With that in mind, our company has sought to efficiently address the challenges and opportunities within the sector by breaking it down to smaller sub sectors, and gathering experts, decision makers and professionals from each of these subdivisions to propose innovative and customised solutions,” he said.
 
Lootah added: “This effectively allows us to put the right people in the right place and utilise the talents and expertise within our sector in a targeted and accurate manner.”

“With three successful initiatives launched in 2017 – namely: The Food Industry Report, the UAE Food Platform and the implementation of the FLW Protocol in the UAE to reduce food wastage – the group has laid the foundation for a clear strategy to guide the sector in the years to come,” he added.
 
The sub sectors in question span the processing of meat and poultry; seafood; fruits and vegetables; vegetable oils and fats; milk; milk-based products; grain mills products; sweets, chocolates and confectionary products; sugar, tea and coffee; spices; bottled water; and beverages, said a statement.
 
The FBMG is set to conduct the sub-sector-focused discussions with food companies, whose leaders and decision makers will come together to develop an action plan for their respective sub sectors.

This will be followed by sub-sector-level facilitation workshops, where the food industry reports will be discussed in detail, it said.
 
Established under the auspices of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the group seeks to create a platform for F&B manufacturers to resolve industry-related challenges and take the sector in the UAE to greater heights.

Membership is open to any business operating in the food & beverage manufacturing sector in the country, it stated. – TradeArabia News Service