Context
Almarai already supplies Saudi shoppers with milk, laban, juice, bakery and poultry. Its next category is beef.
Almarai has launched Haboor (هبور), a pre-packed beef brand, and is putting about $133m (SAR 500 million) behind its entry into red meat. The company disclosed the move in a statement to the Saudi Exchange (Tadawul) on 27 October and expects it to show up in its results from Q4 2026.
What Almarai announced
The brand: Haboor, written HABOOR in Almarai's English materials.
The investment: about SAR 0.5 billion.
The product: mainly locally produced beef, made to Almarai's own quality and food safety standards.
The format: pre-packed, branded meat for retail.
The timing: a financial impact from Q4 2026 onwards.
Almarai says it will lean on what it already has: product development and manufacturing know-how, an integrated supply chain and its distribution network. It also frames the launch as support for domestic food production and Saudi food security under Vision 2030.
CEO Fawaz Aljasser said the company is entering red meat "with a focus on quality, reliability, and value creation."
A plan that has been years in the making
Red meat has been on Almarai's list for a while. In December 2021, its board approved an initial SAR 250 million for an end-to-end plant, from slaughterhouse to butchery, to make packaged branded meat. The plan was to use young cattle from Almarai's existing herds and its route to market, with a 24-month build after regulatory approval.
Where it fits in the 2026–2031 plan
Haboor is one of the first moves under the growth strategy Almarai's board approved on 6 October, which commits more than $4 billion (SAR 15B+) through 2031. One of its four pillars is selective expansion into new categories, and red meat was named as one of them.
Diversifying makes sense for the business. Almarai's Q3 revenue rose 11% to SAR 6.19 billion while net profit held roughly flat at SAR 617.8 million, as feed, shipping, distribution and energy costs absorbed most of the gains. A new chilled category gives that distribution network more to carry.
What it means for the shelf
Branded beef gets a heavyweight. A pre-packed local brand with Almarai's reach could set a new reference point for price and presentation in the Saudi meat chiller.
Retailers gain a single supplier across categories. Grocers that already take Almarai dairy, bakery and poultry can now add beef from the same partner and the same cold chain.
Local sourcing is the selling point. Locally produced beef lines up with the Kingdom's food security goals, a message Almarai is already leading with.
Competitors are moving too. NADEC has also been pushing into packaged red meat this month, so expect a busier chiller over the next year.
Sources: Almarai statement to Tadawul via Argaam (27 Oct 2026), Supermarket News (28 Oct 2026), Argaam (15 Dec 2021), Almarai Q3 2026 results and 2026–2031 strategy.
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