Innovation & The Road to Recovery

In the aftermath of the global COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 is proving to be an innovative term for Abdul Kader Saadi, MD of Glee Hospitality Solutions. Many operators have had to pool all their resources and seek new avenues of thinking in order to ensure their continued success within their respective markets. To this effect, technology will always be one of the strongest tools for fostering success and the F&B sector is no exception in this aspect.

In light of this trend of technological symbiosis with the F&B market, Abdul Kader with a dedicated new team has launched a new B2B application dubbed Eighty6. The Company is part of the DIFC innovation hub enclave, with an allocated Angel capital from the UAE and Saudi Arabia. (Women Spark / https://womenspark.co/)

Eighty6 was launched in September 2021 within the UAE and within the first quarter of 2022 in KSA. The addressable markets would cover a wide spectrum of targets that would include F&B operators and vendors; 40,000+ potential customers between the two aforementioned markets.

The purpose of Eighty6 is to create a more efficient ecosystem between suppliers and restaurants where both parties come out in a beneficial win-win scenario. The system will enable chefs to reduce the time they spend on procurement to give an example of projected efficiency. Chefs on average spend approximately 7 hours a week on procurement and with the implementation of Eighty6, we are looking to drop that time by more than 50%. Additionally, Chefs will also be able to search for existing or new products via the application, further empowering them to shop and compare products with greater clarity and ease. To supplement this, we will also incorporate a supplier dashboard that will seek to minimize the data entry process, handle aggregate orders, and empower them to market their product at the touch of a button. In addition, Eighty6 will incorporate state of the art AI tech to help chefs predict their procurement requirements based on par levels and consumption patterns. Eighty6 is design by a long-term solution to long-term tangible problems/challenges that currently exist within the sector. Approximately, half of businesses have already invested in digital infrastructure and with the addition of an application like Eighty6 we are giving operators the perfect tool for their e-commerce to thrive.

Social distancing in our physical space forced us to carve a stronger piece of the digital environment, with zoom meetings and online ordering options taking over the volume of previously opted interpersonal associations. COVID-19 changed the way we perceive and conduct business forever and operators need to adapt to seize new areas of potential opportunity. We live in a digital age and much like the advent of inventions such as the wheel and the steam engine, those that implement and equip the most innovative tools of the times create the greatest chances for success.

Eighty6 is the culmination of the F&B industry’s most influential experts collaborating with the state-of-the-art digital applications, which will not merely prove beneficial but in some cases be utterly imperative to the road to recovery. For more info, visit https://www.eighty6.shop/

Abdul Kader (Aboudi) Saadi

Co-Founder and Managing Director Eighty6