Business Almarai Unveils 2026–2031 Growth Strategy
Almarai Company, the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy company and the largest food and beverage manufacturing and distribution company in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has unveiled its growth strategy for 2026–2031. The company presented the details of its strategic priorities and long-term ambitions to the business community during its Capital Markets Day 2026.
The new strategy outlines Almarai’s plans to strengthen its market position, expand its product portfolio, develop new business opportunities, and increase its presence in priority markets. Supported by an investment program exceeding USD 4 billion over the strategy period, the company aims to enhance operational capabilities, expand production capacity, and build a stronger foundation for sustainable growth.
The strategy reflects Almarai’s continued commitment to delivering high-quality food and beverage products while creating long-term value for consumers, customers, employees, shareholders, and the communities in which it operates. Building on decades of investment in trusted brands, manufacturing infrastructure, supply chain capabilities, and human capital, the company intends to reinforce its competitive advantages while responding to changing market conditions and consumer expectations.
Four Strategic Priorities to Drive Future Growth
Almarai’s 2026–2031 strategy is built around four core priorities designed to support its next phase of development. These priorities focus on strengthening established product categories, pursuing selective expansion opportunities, increasing participation in high-potential sales channels, and broadening its presence in strategically important markets.
1. Strengthening Core Product Categories
A central element of Almarai’s strategy is to reinforce its leadership across its established product categories. The company has developed a strong market position through its vertically integrated operating model, recognized brands, extensive distribution network, and focus on product quality.
Under the new strategy, Almarai intends to continue building on these strengths by enhancing its existing business operations and supporting the continued development of its core categories. Its established presence in the dairy sector and broader food and beverage industry provides a platform for maintaining customer relationships, responding to evolving consumer preferences, and supporting future business expansion.
Strengthening core categories will remain important as the company seeks to balance growth with operational efficiency and consistent product standards. By continuing to invest in its existing businesses, Almarai aims to protect its competitive position while creating opportunities to serve consumers more effectively.
2. Selective Expansion into Promising New Categories
The second strategic priority involves expanding selectively into new product categories that offer attractive growth opportunities. Rather than pursuing expansion indiscriminately, Almarai plans to focus on areas where its existing capabilities can provide a meaningful competitive advantage.
The company’s experience in food manufacturing, product development, supply chain management, and distribution provides a foundation for evaluating opportunities across the wider food and beverage market. These capabilities can help Almarai identify categories that align with its business strengths and long-term objectives.
Changing consumer lifestyles, evolving food preferences, and demand for high-quality products continue to create opportunities for food and beverage manufacturers. Almarai intends to assess these developments carefully and pursue expansion opportunities that complement its established portfolio.
This selective approach is designed to support sustainable growth while maintaining a disciplined focus on execution, product quality, and long-term value creation.
3. Expanding in Foodservice and E-Commerce
Almarai also plans to strengthen its presence in channels such as foodservice and e-commerce. These channels represent important opportunities for reaching additional customers, improving market access, and responding to changes in how consumers and businesses purchase food and beverage products.
The foodservice sector provides manufacturers with opportunities to supply restaurants, hospitality businesses, catering operations, and other professional food operators. By developing its presence in this channel, Almarai aims to broaden its customer base and build on its established manufacturing and distribution capabilities.
E-commerce offers another avenue for growth as digital purchasing becomes an increasingly important part of the retail landscape. Expanding through digital channels can help the company connect with consumers in new ways and support greater convenience and accessibility.
Almarai’s focus on these channels reflects the importance of adapting its commercial approach to changing customer needs. By strengthening its reach across traditional and emerging sales channels, the company aims to diversify its growth opportunities and improve its ability to serve different market segments.
4. Expanding in Priority Markets
The fourth priority is to expand Almarai’s presence in selected markets where it sees promising long-term opportunities. The company intends to build on its existing market position while identifying areas where its brands, operational scale, and integrated business model can support further development.
Market expansion will be guided by the company’s assessment of consumer demand, competitive conditions, and its ability to serve customers effectively. Its established manufacturing and distribution infrastructure provides a foundation for pursuing opportunities while maintaining a focus on product quality and reliable supply.
By concentrating on priority markets, Almarai aims to direct resources toward opportunities that align with its strategic objectives. This approach is intended to support a balanced expansion strategy that combines growth ambitions with disciplined investment and operational resilience.
More Than USD 4 Billion to Support Strategic Investments
A major component of the 2026–2031 strategy is Almarai’s planned investment of more than USD 4 billion over the five-year period. The investment program is intended to support capacity expansion, strengthen the company’s operational capabilities, and enable its next phase of development.
The planned expenditure underscores the importance of infrastructure, manufacturing capabilities, and supply chain performance in supporting the company’s long-term ambitions.
Investments in production capacity can help Almarai prepare for increasing demand, support the development of existing and new product categories, and improve its ability to serve customers across its markets. Strengthening operational capabilities will also be important as the company expands into additional channels and evaluates opportunities in new markets.
The investment program builds on Almarai’s longstanding approach to developing an integrated food and beverage platform. By coordinating manufacturing, supply chain operations, and distribution, the company aims to maintain the standards and reliability associated with its brands while supporting future growth.
The scale of the planned investment also highlights Almarai’s commitment to strengthening its long-term competitive position. Rather than focusing exclusively on near-term performance, the company is allocating substantial resources to capabilities intended to support its business over the coming years.
CEO Highlights Strengths and Long-Term Ambitions
Commenting on the strategy, Fawaz Aljasser, Chief Executive Officer of Almarai Company, emphasized the strength of the company’s brands, operational capabilities, and integrated business model.
“Our new growth strategy is supported by our trusted brands, industry-leading capabilities, and one of the region’s most integrated food and beverage platforms. Today, we are entering the next phase of our journey from a position of strength,” Aljasser said.
He also highlighted that the company’s objectives extend beyond financial performance, with investments intended to broaden consumer choice, enhance supply chain resilience, and strengthen local manufacturing.
“We believe that Almarai’s combination of trusted brands, operational excellence, scale, and resilience positions us well to capture the significant opportunities while continuing to deliver the quality and value that consumers expect,” he added.
The CEO’s comments reflect the company’s intention to pursue growth while preserving the attributes that have supported its market position. Brand trust, product quality, manufacturing expertise, and reliable distribution are expected to remain central to Almarai’s approach as it develops its business over the strategy period.
Responding to Long-Term Food and Beverage Trends
Almarai’s strategy is informed by longer-term developments across the food and beverage sector, including rising consumer demand for high-quality products and the need for manufacturers to respond to changing purchasing habits.
Consumers increasingly expect food and beverage companies to deliver products that meet their expectations for quality, consistency, availability, and value. Meeting these expectations requires ongoing investment in production, distribution, product development, and customer service.
Almarai believes its capabilities across manufacturing, supply chain management, distribution, consumer-centricity, and innovation provide a differentiated foundation for capturing these opportunities. Its integrated operating model allows the company to coordinate multiple stages of its business and support the delivery of products to customers.
The company’s emphasis on consumer-centricity also reflects the importance of understanding changing preferences and developing offerings that respond to different needs across markets and channels.
At the same time, supply chain resilience and local manufacturing remain important considerations for food producers operating in an increasingly complex business environment. Continued investment in these areas can help strengthen operational reliability and support the company’s ability to meet demand.
Building Sustainable Long-Term Value
Through its 2026–2031 strategy, Almarai aims to combine growth, operational excellence, and disciplined investment to support its long-term development. The four strategic priorities provide a framework for strengthening existing businesses, entering selected new categories, expanding through foodservice and e-commerce, and pursuing opportunities in priority markets.
The planned investment of more than USD 4 billion is expected to play a central role in advancing these ambitions by expanding capacity and strengthening the company’s capabilities.
Almarai’s strategy also places emphasis on creating value for a broad group of stakeholders, including consumers, customers, employees, shareholders, and local communities. Its focus on product quality, supply chain resilience, and local manufacturing reflects an ambition to support business growth while reinforcing its role in the regional food and beverage sector.
As the company enters the next stage of its development, its established brands, integrated operations, and investment commitments will provide the foundation for executing its strategic priorities. The success of the plan will depend on effective implementation, disciplined allocation of resources, and the ability to respond to evolving consumer demand and market opportunities.
With its new five-year strategy, Almarai is positioning itself to build on its existing strengths, expand selectively, and pursue sustainable growth across the food and beverage industry in MENA and its priority markets.
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