Almarai red meat entry: SAR500m Haboor beef brand launch

Almarai red meat ambitions took shape on Tuesday, 27 October, when the Saudi food group told Tadawul it will invest nearly SAR500m ($133m) to enter the category through a new brand, Haboor.

The brand will focus mainly on high-quality beef products manufactured locally to Almarai’s existing quality and food safety standards, the company said in its statement to the exchange. The financial impact is expected to show in results from the fourth quarter of 2026.

Almarai said the move is intended to widen consumer choice, meet growing demand for premium meat and diversify its business. It also framed the investment as support for value-added domestic food categories and for the resilience of the Kingdom’s food supply chains.

Why Almarai red meat fits the 2026–2031 strategy

The launch follows the Almarai growth strategy that the board approved on 6 October and presented to investors at a capital markets event on 8 October. That plan is built on four pillars, one of which is selective expansion into promising new food categories.

Almarai has said it plans to deploy more than $4bn over the strategy period to expand capacity and capabilities. The other three pillars are strengthening core categories, growing channels such as foodservice and e-commerce, and expanding in priority markets, according to the company’s capital markets day materials.

The company, which describes itself as the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy business, is drawing on nearly five decades of operating experience for the new line. The Haboor beef brand will be sold as pre-packed products, trade publication Supermarket News reported, placing it in the chilled retail segment where Almarai already distributes its dairy, juice and poultry products.

Almarai is “entering the red meat market with a focus on quality, reliability, and value creation,” chief executive Fawaz Al Jasser said in a statement reported by trade media. He added that the company remains committed to contributing to Saudi food security as it invests in growth.

Almarai has told the exchange the strategy itself is not expected to have a material financial impact at this stage. Its earlier five-year plan, approved in March 2024, carried an investment programme of more than SAR18bn ($4.8bn) covering poultry, dairy, juice, bakery and new food categories, Argaam reported.

Protein segment under pressure

The announcement comes just over three weeks after Almarai reported third-quarter revenue of SAR6.19bn ($1.65bn), up 11% from SAR5.55bn a year earlier. Net profit rose 1% to SAR617.8m ($165m) from SAR613.2m, according to the company’s results statement.

Revenue for the first nine months reached SAR18.22bn ($4.86bn), a 10% increase, while net profit of about SAR1.99bn ($531m) was broadly stable. The company said the protein segment contributed less than in the same quarter of 2025 because of poultry market supply conditions, higher energy-related distribution costs and ramp-up expenses.

Third-quarter revenue growth came from higher poultry volumes after capacity expansion, stronger dairy sales in Egypt and the contribution of an acquired water business, the company said. Higher shipping costs for dairy feed and energy-linked distribution expenses held back the bottom line.

The Almarai red meat line gives the group a second protein business that is less exposed to the poultry cycle and that can run through its existing cold chain and retail distribution network. The statement did not give production sites, launch timing for specific products or volume targets.

What it means for Saudi food investors

Localising premium beef processing aligns with the Vision 2030 priorities for domestic manufacturing and food security that Almarai cited in its announcement. For Tadawul investors, the test will be whether the new category can lift margins in a protein business that has weighed on group profit this year, a pressure also seen in NADEC’s third-quarter results.

Analysts will watch the fourth-quarter results for the first contribution from the Almarai red meat line and for any update on the SAR500m spending timeline. More Saudi corporate updates are available in the Outlook Middle East news section.