Please find below, studies on the Food and Beverages sector.

• Beverage companies of all types continue to saturate GCC market

  The UAE has moved to the top of BMI’s regional Food & Drink Business Environment Ratings table for Q309. According to the BMI report, the country’s standing as an attractive market for investors in search for near-term returns. One of the world’s highest per capita GDP’s and a lack of market saturation are among the main attractions pulling food and drink investors in the UAE.

• Global brands take largest share of media coverage

  The food industry has been facing strong influences in the UAE and KSA markets for a year due to the economic crisis, advertising opportunities and lately due to the month of Ramadan and changes in consumer habits.

• Bottled Water: Plenty of room for growth

  According to the Consulate of Canada’s Agri-Food Program Section study, the GCC accounts for 60% of the world’s desalination plants. The percentage distribution of drinking water industries in the GCC is dominated by Saudi Arabia at 78%, followed by the UAE at 14%, primarily based on desalinated drinking water.

• Tea still bigger than coffee

  With intention to focus on the hot beverages sector, we chose to focus on tea and coffee and in certain brands in specific; Folgers, Lipton, Maxwell House, Nescafe, Twining, Rabea Tea. Both the media coverage and the surveys were conducted for both the UAE and KSA markets for the time period of 20 October to 20 November 2008.

• Food Inflation

  Inflation has become a concern for most the last few years and particularly this year. Food inflation has been steadily rising, and is speculated to be due to rise in energy prices and biofuels. The issue of food inflation is neither temporary nor transitory. Combating food inflation remains a big challenge.