This is the conclusion of the panel on Singapore-Saudi food collaboration, gathered at the recent JISR (Arabic for “bridge”) business convention Beyond Borders and Horizons: A GCC-APAC Partnership Business Conference in Singapore.
The panel included Float Foods Executive Vice President Kelvin Ng and World Future Enterprises Founder Tonya Tan; and moderated by Farah Sami, partner at IncuBaker Studio and director of marketing and business development.
Ng highlighted the key relationships between Singapore and the GCC countries in terms of food security and overwhelming dependence on imports, and how OnlyEg, Float Foods’ plant-based egg, had managed to identify a niche in both markets.
“Both markets consume a lot of eggs but don’t have local sourcing, and Dubai Municipality also has a big salmonella problem as it can be temporarily aggravated due to hot weather, which means that, like Singapore, they have to import their eggs to make them. their own eggs. Acquisitions are subject to issues such as delays, rate increases, etc. “he told the audience.
“I see this market as something of a middleman before heading to markets like Germany, North America, the UK, or Scandinavia, which I think 99% of my protein peers of choice turned to after realizing there was a relative lack of exuberance in Asia, especially since launching in one of the latter markets requires a huge amount of budget to launch.
“This means that, in order to launch into this market, food companies will want to plan their money further in advance and last longer; And any launch plan can’t be planned just 12 months in advance, but at least 18 to 20 months in advance. 24 months. months to come, as cases like Ramadan, for example, or the hot summer months with temperatures above 40°C likely mean that other people don’t want to communicate with you or have moved to colder climates.
Tan agrees, adding that knowing “where to play and how to win” is very vital in this region, and especially in Saudi Arabia, where connections are especially applicable to decision-makers.
“Saudi Arabia is the fastest-growing economy in the G20 and has the highest GDP in the Middle East and, more importantly, it is now much less difficult to do business here than it used to be,” he said.
“Food has become a key expansion sector in this market, and Singaporean corporations have enormous merit here, as Singapore has a ‘clean and green’ symbol in this region that Saudi Arabia plans to emulate.
“The upcoming Saudi-Singaporean food mission is envisioned as a kind of bridge for Singaporean food corporations to enter Saudi Arabia, especially with prominent presentations in hypermarkets and supermarkets to advertise them. The general concept is to enter as an industry of one nation, of another country and paints on local purchases in this benefit.
Ng noted that corporations want to be willing to deploy 10 times more perseverance to succeed in this region, but that the rewards will likely be 10 times greater as well.
“The scale in the GCC is just another – think of it as if a place to eat had 30 branches in Singapore, that would be a success, but that wouldn’t be the case there until said place to eat had at least a triple-digit number of restaurants. “counting places, which is how different the scale is,” he said.
“So while running a business in this market would possibly require, say, sending 10 emails or making 10 calls, as opposed to a single email here in Singapore, which means you’d have to be 10 times more persistent in the GCC, the rewards here are also 10 times higher thanks to scale.
“Therefore, the rewards far outweigh the drawbacks, and there is a huge possibility for collaboration between Singapore and GCC markets, such as Saudi Arabia, in food production, as Singapore has the necessary food technology, while the GCC has the lowest market length and energy costs. . necessary to keep the factories running, so that the combined operation can actually produce effects with incredible efficiency.
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