BUSINESS
EYE ON
FROM THE KINGDOM TO THE WORLD:
RETHINKING SAUDI CUISINE
In line with the Saudi Vision 2030 plan to diversify the economy with an undeniable emphasis on tourism, Ralph Nader, CEO of Amber Consulting, highlights the importance of rethinking traditional Saudi dishes and its potential to become a globally recognized cuisine.
Have you ever tasted authentic Saudi cuisine? A JLL report released in June 2020 identified the top five cuisine categories in KSA in a study that obtained data from 9,000 restaurants across Jeddah and Riyadh. Remarkably, one of these categories included Saudi cuisine. Middle Eastern cuisine, however, ranked as the second-most popular category in both cities, with the majority of respondents only offering Lebanese or Mediterranean cuisine.
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HOSPITALITY NEWS ME | DEC 2022-JAN 2023
To date, there are no Saudi restaurants in the kingdom distinctive enough in concept and taste to be worth mentioning. Moreover, there isn’t a single outlet outside of the kingdom itself that represents true Saudi cuisine.
Saudi Vision 2030: the opportunity of a lifetime On October 28, 2022, Fortune Business Insights released a report, “Saudi Arabia Food Service Market, 2022-2029,” in which it predicts that the foodservice
market will hit USD 30.47 billion by 2029, in comparison with its size — valued at USD 12.57 billion in 2021 and a projected USD 14.16 billion in 2022. The numbers reflect, among other things, the drive and the rush of local and foreign investors to partake in the development of a promising future It destination. With all this exposure, the moment has come to think seriously about Saudi Arabian food. While this new market has plenty of
