SaudiFood Manufacturing 2025, the largest F&B Manufacturing event in the kingdom, opened its doors for its second day at Riyadh Front Exhibition and Conference Centre as visitors continued to explore the exhibition halls while interacting with companies launching new innovations and engaging in commercial trade deals.

 

The day saw Food Specialities Limited (FSL), an award-winning ingredient solutions provider and Kerry Group, a leading and innovative global food giant, announce a strategic partnership. This collaboration will enhance product offerings with a range of emulsifiers and shelf life solutions with Kerry’s CalPro NIACET Brand to the food industry in the region.

 

Dash Dhawan, CEO, FSL, said: “We are proud to partner with Kerry, one of the largest multinationals in the food ingredients industry and are excited to service the bakery, confectionery, dairy, oils & fats industries. These discussions have been ongoing for some time and we are pleased to officially announce this partnership at the Saudi Food Manufacturing Show in the presence of our regional customers.

 

“From a technical and application perspective; speed, flexibility, and deep knowledge of regional taste profiles are essential. With Kerry’s long-standing local presence, knowledge and strong infrastructure, combined with FSL’s technical labs and application capabilities, we are confident in offering a true end-to-end one-stop solution for customers. This partnership will strengthen FSL’s go-to-market strategy and allows us to support customers with shorter lead times and full supply chain solutions.”

 

Inanc Isik, General Manager of Middle East Türkiye Pakistan (METP) at Kerry Group, said: “It's a special moment for us as we announce a new partnership in the GCC and Saudi region—a key milestone that aligns perfectly with our strategy of localisation.

 

“As a local manufacturing company based in Saudi Arabia, we already have teams on the ground and innovation centres in place. This new partnership now gives us access to the strongest distribution network in the region. What this means for our customers is that we can deliver value and cutting-edge ingredient technology much faster, particularly in the bakery sector, through this powerful collaboration.”

 

Opening the Food Forward Summit, Dr Maha Tahiri, CEO and Founder of Nutrition Sustainability Strategies, gave the audience fascinating first-hand insights into GLP-1 medications. She emphasised the importance of placing frameworks that combine medication with nutrition and behaviour with a key focus on being supported by governments to help accelerate development and promote wellbeing.

 

She explained: “Saudi Arabia is leading by example in the region by putting in guidelines for Type 2 diabetes and ensuring the infrastructure is in place. Today it has 30 per cent of the market in the Middle East and Africa region which shows they’re very advanced. However, more needs to be done for others to follow in their footsteps and I urge all governments worldwide to have a very comprehensive approach to ensure there is efficient behavioural assistance for people so they can have a healthy lifestyle.”

 

Also taking to the stage was futurist, strategic foresight expert, and founder of ANTICIPATE, Mathias Behn Bjørnhof, who looked to the future of food manufacturing, navigating AI, Automation and Sustainability.

 

He commented: “We need to consider AI as the brain, automation as the muscle, and sustainability as the footprint of where we want to go. These are important aspects which not only offer a new paradigm for the future of food but one that can work together.”

 

He predicts the world is entering the era of 24/7 lights-out factories with minimal human intervention and gave an example of Unilever’s factories, which run on digital twins, and their 99.8 per cent success rate when it comes to on-time delivery.

 

A number of panel discussions were also held as attendees gained an understanding on the key trends of food production and manufacturing. Among the topics was smart logistics with 

Saeed AlSuwaidi, Founding Executive Director – OneCamel, Abdullah Alotaibi, Founder and CEO – Nabt, Rami Younes, General Manager - Swisslog AG, and Abdulaziz Alsebaie, Founder - Nommas.ai, saying that companies must always think about what consumers want with a focus on embracing technology that will help produce and deliver fresh food more efficiently.

 

NEOM Investment Fund (NIF), the investment arm of NEOM, revealed a strategic investment in Liberation Labs, a global pioneer in precision-fermentation biomanufacturing. The partnership will set the foundation for Liberation Labs to support Topian, NEOM’s food company, in designing and developing an advanced precision-fermentation facility in the Kingdom. 

 

Liberation Labs develops and operates purpose-built biomanufacturing facilities that utilise precision fermentation to produce basic food ingredients. The process offers a scalable and sustainable solution to traditional food production methods and can be used to produce high-value proteins without the need for animals.

 

Away from the stage, over 550 global businesses showcased their innovations at the venue with visitors getting a first-hand view on products and services on tomorrow’s food manufacturing. It also provided an opportunity for companies to forge new business relationships and attract investment.

 

Faiz Ahmad, owner of MAFA company, which offers competitive solutions and services in the F&B industry said the event is a key platform to widen its reach to new markets from around the world.

 

He said: “Participating in this show has been extremely beneficial, connecting us with international clients and allowing us to begin exporting our locally produced machines to other markets. There’s a clear correlation between our growth and Saudi Arabia’s strategic expansion in this sector.

Looking ahead, we are continuing to expand internationally. We’re bringing in advanced technologies from Germany, implementing them locally, and exporting globally." - TradeArabia News Service