Almarai recently approached the Sidel Group to increase its production capacities around orange juice distributed via cold chain. With high speed and reliability of the line coupled with great product quality among the top requirements from this customer, the global provider of equipment and services for the liquid packaging industry was the ideal partner for the job. Since its founding in 1977, Almarai has grown via strategic investments, becoming the largest producer and distributor of food and drink in the Middle East with a market capitalisation exceeding $12.5 billion. The company's main objective has always been the commitment to consumer satisfaction, maintained by the drive for constant innovation. In fact, Almarai's production, marketing, and distribution structure enables the daily distribution of products to over 110,000 retail outlets across the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries , plus Egypt and Jordan.
Bold consumer preference for juice drinks
When Almarai recently reached out to Sidel, they needed to increase the production capacity around the single-serve format of its orange juice (200ml) bottled in PET and handled under cold chain distribution. This opportunity was especially driven by the great consumer preference around it: part of a range offering twenty taste possibilities, as such perfectly reflecting the major trends impacting the beverage market in Saudi Arabia. There, the search for more healthy and natural formulations is expected to influence juice sales considerably.With the leading position in the juice market, Almarai decided to install two new Sidel PET complete lines, each one handling 54,000 bottles per hour (bph), in the Al Kharj central processing plant (CPP).
