ABU DHABI- Khalifa Fund has announced the launch of the F&B Innovation Lab 2.0, in partnership with the F&B Manufacturers Business Group (FBMG), Mintel - the knowledge partner, Tate & Lyle - technical partner, Federal Youth Authority – youth partner, as well as leading industry F&B manufacturers.

The activities of the lab will commence on 20th April, 2022 and finalise by 30th October, 2022. The programme returns following a breakthrough first edition which saw 4 new innovative products go to market in the UAE.

The F&B Innovation Lab 2.0 will follow the same successful format, where applicants will be enrolled into a specialised boot camp to develop their F&B products, as the first step towards validation and product-market fit.

The second stage of the programme will be to enrol qualified applicants into a market research boot camp to help to identify their target market and take into consideration the needs of their discovered target audience, before going through the post-validation phase, graduation and eventual commercialisation deal.

Alia Al Mazrouei, CEO - Enablement Sector & Non-Financial Services of Khalifa Fund, said, "Khalifa Fund, alongside our esteemed partners, are delighted to launch the F&B Innovation Lab 2.0 as part of our ongoing commitment to enhancing the UAE’s F&B sector. In this iteration, the programme will incubate the entrepreneurs with the most viable and scalable F&B concepts, rooted in sustainability, health, and convenience."

"The first edition of the F&B Innovation Lab was amongst our most successful initiatives to date, and I sincerely look forward to building upon our previous success. The main aim of the F&B Innovation Lab is to create the early foundations for ideation and innovation for UAE talent in the F&B sector, while actively contributing towards the further enhancement of our advanced food security levels," she added.

Meanwhile, Saleh Lootah, Chairman of UAE Food and Beverage Business Group, said, "Food sector has faced the most challenges and disruptions in recent times. Our aim is to drive innovation and new product development in the food manufacturing sector making way for more resilient food products. With F&B Innovation Lab programme, we bring together food manufacturers and innovators to co-develop the next big F&B products and support the National development."

Entrepreneurs have the opportunity to participate in the F&B Innovation Lab until registration ends on 12th July, 2022. Following registration, UAE talents will be supported by programme partners to develop and validate new F&B products; those that show potential through the development of a viable product-market fit will have the option to commercialise with the partnering F&B manufacturers.