From App To Plate: Tech Geniuses Reshaping The GCC Food Scene
Tech has come a long way and is now an integral part of everything we do. In the food industry alone, the introduction of tech has led to new and exciting ways to not only dine but inject sustainability into the industry. Leading this innovative approach are several techies who’ve been reshaping the GCC food industry for the better.
Let’s meet some of the most prominent in the industry making major waves:
Munira Al Muammar
You know how in restaurants, many diners end up over-ordering, which unfortunately leads to having all that food being thrown out? Enters an entrepreneur with a creative spirit: Meet Munira Al Muammar, the CEO and co-founder of Barakah.
She’s the woman behind the Saudi Arabian startup that offers a platform for restaurants to sell their surplus food at discounted prices. Not just that; she’s also the product manager of MDLBeast Records, helping to place a lens on local talent.
Sami Alhelwah
Saudi Arabian entrepreneur Sami Alhelwah is all about making the lives of people easy and convenient. That’s why he tapped into his ingenuity to come up with an online grocery shopping and home delivery service known as Nana Direct.
His app makes sure that groceries and products are carefully chosen so that they’re delivered directly to customer’s houses. Tech has always been an integral part of Alhelwah’s life; he spent 14 years at ExaServ overseeing software and financial system projects.
Today, his startup Nana Direct is a continuation of his success, as it recently got 18 million dollars in funding.
Nida Sumar & Maryam Sumar
There’s nothing quite like a sister duo melding their ingenuity to bring forth Keza, which started off as a restaurant discovery app and ended up growing into a restaurant management system, supplier marketplace, and diner app all wrapped into one.
Emirati Nina & Maryam Sumar knew how to create a comprehensive app that incorporates what Talabat, Zomato, Sapaad, and BlueCart can do in one app.
On the restaurant end, the platform helps restaurants manage their menus, orders, tables, and so on, while on the customer end, it helps customers discover restaurants, reserve them, and order food right to their doorstep.
Ahmed Al Rawi
Already making strides in the startup scene is Al Rawi, a tech and growth enthusiast who bootstrapped his first startup at the age of 19. Today, he continues to dominate the scene by being the co-founder and CEO of Calo, known as a Bahrani startup that offers healthy meal delivery services and customizable meal plans.
The Calo app doesn’t just calculate the calories and macronutrients each user needs; it also delivers them ready-to-eat meals that are portioned for each user’s fitness goals. This startup doesn’t only dominate the food industry but the health industry as well.
Yousef Al Munayes
Some hate to cook, while others don’t even have the time to do so. If you also have kids at home, there’s even that added pressure to whip up something in the kitchen on a daily basis.
Qatari entrepreneur Yousef Al Munayes, as well as Hind Al Awadi and Fawaz Al Sultan, put their heads together to create Pantry Bee, a food tech app that delivers boxes of locally sourced, freshly packed ingredients to people’s homes.
With each box is a step-by-step guide to help customers cook their own meals at home. To keep things fun, there’s a new menu of recipes every week. Such an idea simplified cooking in many homes across Qatar.
All these entrepreneurs are truly changing the food scene in the GCC by using innovative tech. With more time, we’ll begin to see bigger innovations, including drone-delivered food and restaurants and cafes solely operated by robots.
