Almarai is moving into red meat with Haboor, a pre-packed beef brand backed by an investment of about SR500m ($133.3m), Just Food reported this week. The sum is twice the SR250m initial investment that Almarai’s board approved for branded local beef in December 2021, according to Argaam.
The launch takes Almarai, whose brands include Almarai, L’usine, Alyoum, and Nura, into the red-meat category, Just Food reported. Zawya, which carried the same SR500m ($133m) figure, said the investment aims to diversify the company’s portfolio and expand it into the red meat market.
The launch comes after Almarai set out a 2026-2031 strategy earlier this month that, according to Just Food, names red meat among the new categories it will selectively expand into. The new figure is twice the initial sum approved in 2021, yet the reports give no capacity or store date against which suppliers and grocers could size it.
The earlier plan shows what Almarai once intended to build. In 2021, Argaam reported that the company would put up an end-to-end production plant, meaning a single operation running from a slaughterhouse to a butchery and delivering retail-ready packaged branded meat. The plan was to be financed from operating cash flows and completed within 24 months of final regulatory approval, subject to sign-off from several regulatory authorities.
The reports reviewed do not say how much beef Haboor will produce or when it will reach stores. Just Food’s report gives no plant capacity, tonnage, store launch date, or cattle numbers. Until those figures are published, the reported investment is the only measure of Haboor’s scale.
Almarai Haboor Investment Is Twice the Initial Sum Set in 2021
Almarai’s SR500m commitment to Haboor is twice the SR250m initial beef investment its board approved on December 14, 2021. Argaam reported that approval at the time, and Zawya also covered the SR250m plant plan.
Argaam’s 2021 report said the plan would draw on Almarai’s existing young cattle supply and its route-to-market infrastructure. The company described the aim then as expanding its product offering and contributing to the food security agenda set out in Saudi Vision 2030. Just Food reported that the Haboor launch is likewise aligned with Vision 2030 and framed as part of Almarai’s portfolio diversification.
None of the coverage explains the difference between the two sums. The 2021 figure was described as an initial investment, and the reports on Haboor do not say whether the SR500m includes the plant approved in 2021, replaces that plan, or adds to it. Nor do they say whether the slaughterhouse-to-butchery plant described by Argaam has been built.
Almarai 2026-2031 Strategy Puts New Food Categories on the Agenda
Almarai’s 2026-2031 strategy, approved earlier this month, plans more than $4bn of investment over six years, according to Just Food. The trade publication listed its strands as selective expansion into new categories including red meat, stronger core categories, foodservice and e-commerce channels, and growth in priority markets.
Argaam, which reported the approval, set out four priorities in different terms. They are enhancing business resilience and food supply chains, improving efficiency through higher productivity, strengthening profitability through disciplined growth, and increasing cash flow generation. Argaam added that the strategy is not expected to have a material financial impact at this stage.
Argaam reported that Almarai describes the new plan as a shift from a heavy investment phase to a value realization phase.
The previous plan, for 2024-2028, carried investment of more than SR18bn aimed at poultry, at core categories such as dairy, juices, and bakery, and at new food categories, per Argaam. The roughly $133.3m reported for Haboor equals about 3% of the more than $4bn now planned, though none of the reports says whether the Haboor investment is counted within that total.
Almarai Nine-Month Results Show Revenue Outpacing Profit
Almarai enters beef with revenue rising faster than profit, according to its nine-month figures reported by Just Food. Revenue for the nine months to September 30, 2026, rose 9.7% to SR18.21bn, operating profit rose 0.9% to SR2.46bn, and net income attributable to shareholders fell 0.3% to SR1.98bn, Just Food reported.
None of the reports says how Haboor will be funded. Argaam reported in 2021 that the original beef plan was to be financed from operating cash flows, and the nine-month figures show a business that is still growing its sales while holding profit roughly flat. Set against SR1.98bn of net income for the period, as Just Food reported it, the SR500m beef commitment is smaller than the profit Almarai attributed to shareholders in nine months.
Haboor Leaves Capacity and Store Timing Undisclosed for Beef Suppliers
The Haboor launch reports came without capacity, tonnage, or a store date. The 2021 plan gave the plant a 24-month build from final regulatory approval, Argaam reported, but neither that coverage nor this week’s reports say when, or whether, that approval was granted.
For suppliers outside the kingdom, none of the reports point to any change in the rules for selling meat into the region, from halal certification for GCC exports to the plant audits described in guides to Australian halal slaughterhouse standards and halal certification in Brazil. Argaam’s 2021 account said Almarai’s original beef plan would draw on its existing young cattle supply and route-to-market infrastructure; none of the reports says whether Haboor follows that plan.
Fawaz Aljasser, Almarai’s chief executive, said the investment is “a strategic step that builds on Almarai’s strengths while supporting our long-term growth ambitions,” according to Just Food. Until Almarai publishes capacity and a store date, the clearest measure of Haboor is the reported investment of about SR500m, twice what its board first set aside for branded beef in December 2021.
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