CEO Today Middle East Awards

31 CEO TODAY MIDDLE EAST AWARDS 2020 Food & Bevereages What’s Kuwait Flour Mills & Bakeries story? KFMB was originally established in 1961 as Kuwait Flour Mills Company. Significant demand meant that several expansions to themill’s production capacitywere made during the company’s first decade in business, including the addition of a macaroni factory in 1969 and a biscuit factory in 1970. Then, in 1975, a bran pressing factory was established, which was followed by the setting up of a vegetable oil factory in 1976. A merger with Kuwait Bakeries Company in 1988 resulted in the formation of Kuwait Flour Mills & Bakeries Company – a multifaceted government entity with eight bakeries which produce Arab bread. Tell us more about the products you make. KFMB’s comprehensive manufac- turing setup encompasses mills, factories and bakeries in various locations across Kuwait, which combined produce a vast range of flours, pasta products, bis- cuits, oils, and Arab and European bread products. Our mills process and package numerous varieties of flour, including all-purpose pat- ent flour, white, whole-wheat and brown flour, peeled and crushed wheat, pastry and biscuit flour, pizza base mix, semolina flour, and European bread flour. What have been some of your main achievements in the past 12 months? One of KFMB’s strategies is to launch at least one or more new products every year. In 2019, we launched Biscotti with Chocolate and slider potato buns. On top of this, from the principle of social responsibility, the company works collaboratively with The Public Authority for Food and Nutrition and the Ministry of Education to serve healthy food to students in Kuwait. We make a selection of buns stuffed with labaneh, thyme and feta cheese, vanilla cupcakes and coconuts biscuits for a number of canteens in the country. What would you say are the challenges of operating within the Kuwaiti food sector? How do you overcome them? The geographical location of the State of Kuwait can be considered as the first challenge, as all shipments coming from any country in the world by sea must pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Another challenge is the fact that we’re an open market and products can be imported in the country from anywhere in the world. Some of the other issues include trying to achieve a balance between reasonable prices and achieving profits. However, all of these challenges could be over- come by storage and flow of ship- ments, applying the international quality and food safety standards and manufacturing auxiliary prod- ucts that contribute to the release of the final product. What opportunities are there for investors to inject innovation and product development in Kuwait’s food sector? There are numerous opportunities for investors in regards to food security, food sustainability, AI and industrial automation. What’s on your agenda for 2020? Our main goal is to continue implementing our vision and mission and to provide the consumer with their various high- quality nutritional needs, whilst achieving food security for the State of Kuwait. Some of the key things that are on our agenda are maintaining the sustainability of food security for our country, by providing strategic stock in proportion to the country’s population growth, and cooperating with the FAO to export our products at competitive prices as food aid. In preparation to launch our products on the global markets accordinglywe have also obtained a Halal Certificate and are in process of obtaining the BRC certificate.