Khalifa Fund and the F&B Manufacturers Business Group (FBMG) have revealed the official outcomes from the year-long F&B Innovation Lab, an initiative that aimed to discover, guide and mentor the UAE’s next innovative F&B products, which were rooted in sustainability, health, and convenience.
Khalifa Fund revealed during a ceremony held in the Department of Economic Development that Al Ain Farms, UAE Macaroni Factories, and Hunter Foods have entered the final stages before commercialising 4 Emirati projects, pitched by UAE entrepreneurs: Bakhita Ziad Raeisi, Bisher Zumot, Meera Al Khayyal, Rowayyah Abdulla Ali Al Hefeiti and Shaima Surour Mubraka Al Zaabi, through the F&B Innovation Lab initiative.
The initiative gave talented UAE entrepreneurs with innovative F&B concepts the opportunity to convert their ideas into marketable products by connecting them with the largest F&B manufacturers in the UAE.
Apply for the 2022 cohort of the F&B Innovation Lab
Do you have an innovative idea to carry the F&B sector through these testing times? The Khalifa Fund is offering you a chance to develop your ideas into the next F&B product that will shape the future of the lucrative F&B industry.
The role of the entrepreneurs
After registering to be an F&B Innovation Lab potential incubate, and if selected, we will support you to develop and test your new F&B product. Those that show potential through the development of a viable product-market fit, will have the option to partner and commercialise your product with one of the participating F&B manufacturers.
How entrepreneurs can benefit from the F&B Innovation Lab
Through participation in the F&B Innovation Lab, successful incubates will gain access to mentoring from highly esteemed and well-established F&B manufacturers in the UAE.
Incubates will also take part in a 5-day innovation BootCamp. Following completion of the bootcamp, selected incubates will go into an incubation programme where they will work closely with manufacturers to further develop and help fully commercialise their products.
Register for the F&B Innovation Lab for the opportunity to be connected with the UAE’s leading F&B manufacturers and kick-start your F&B product creation and development.
The F&B Innovation Lab's next cohort will open by Dec 2021/Jan 2022. Aspiring and established entrepreneurs alike can register for the opportunity to participate by following this link: https://fnbinnovationlab.com.
Results from this year's cohort
Al Ain Farms will be helping to develop a prototype for Hero Boxes, a reusable packaging item for sustainability solutions that aims to enhance packaging by enabling companies to save materials and space; as well as entering the product testing phase for a lactose-free Labneh, an which aims to innovatively use enzymes to produce lactose-free dairy products.
Emirates Macaroni Factory will be entering the final location identifier, sales and testing of a vending machine concept that provides hot, whole meals in various tourist destinations across the UAE; whereas Hunter Foods will be finalising the product recipe of a new 'Hunters Gourmet Hand Cooked Potato Chips' using Bzar, an Emirati spice mix that will flavour the chips to taste of like the UAE’s most iconic dishes.
Rowayyah Alhefeiti, F&B Innovation Lab Incubate, speaks about the F&B Innovation Lab program:
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