Dubai: Abu Dhabi's Khalifa Fund and the F&B Manufacturers Business Group are launching an F&B Innovation Lab to "discover and mentor" innovative products coming up in this sector.
The programme will incubate Emirati talent who have F&B concepts that will focus on sustainability, health, and convenience, which then can develop into successful products for the market. The F&B Innovation Lab - conceived as a first-of-its-kind - will operate in several specific phases starting from: scouting and attracting talent; interviewing and filtering candidates; a five-day innovation bootcamp; and an incubation phase that will lead to the eventual commercialisation of the F&B concept.
A bevy of partners
The programme brings together local manufacturers such as Emirates National Food Co, Baklawa Made Better, Abu Dhabi Vegetable Oil Company, Emirati Macaroni Factory, among others. The Lab will be set up in association with Mintel, the knowledge partner, Tate & Lyle, technical partner, and InnovaMENA, the innovation project manager. Invertium comes in as technology partner.
