Executive Summary: Research & Advisory Update (2026)

The period spanning 2025 and early 2026 marked a phase of significant growth and accelerated project delivery for IMES Consulting across our primary research, strategy, and transaction advisory mandates.

Our core focus remains heavily anchored in the GCC, driven primarily by Saudi Arabia’s economic transformation. However, our operational footprint has successfully expanded across the wider MENA region and East Africa to meet shifting client demands.

• • KSA Transformation & Vision 2030: Strategic capital investments are rapidly accelerating Saudi Arabia’s poultry sector toward national self-sufficiency targets.
  • Supply & Price Volatility: Substantial capacity expansions have driven localized over-supply in key product segments, fundamentally altering pricing dynamics across the GCC.
  • Geographic Expansion: Moving beyond core GCC borders, IMES has executed comprehensive market assessments across Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan to support European stakeholders navigating cross-border opportunities.
  • Red Meat Processing: Our capabilities have successfully expanded into beef, sheepmeat, and value-added charcuterie/cold-cut processing across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and East Africa.

• Inbound Trade Flow: We continue to advise European exporters evaluating the mature Middle Eastern dairy landscape, specifically focusing on milk powders, industrial butters, and heavy creams.
• Value-Added Innovation: As traditional GCC dairy growth rates stabilize, market leaders are shifting focus toward high-margin sub-sectors. Key growth areas include Greek yogurt, kefir, functional protein beverages, plant-based dairy alternatives, and robustly expanding processed cheese markets.

• • Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): Successfully matched cross-border investment partners with local joint-venture opportunities in high-growth Middle Eastern corridors.
  • Sectoral Development: Partnered with regional government agencies to design value-add frameworks aimed at accelerating regional economic diversification.
  • Transaction Readiness: Delivered multiple comprehensive, bankable feasibility studies, commercial due diligence reports, route-to-market strategies, and operational business plans.

Strategic Shifts in MENA Agri-Food, AgTech, and Leisure Investment (February 2024 Update)

• • Throughout 2023, IMES Consulting experienced a period of high-impact engagement across our market intelligence, strategy, and investment advisory mandates. While our strategic core remains anchored in the GCC—led by Saudi Arabia’s sweeping economic transformations—our operational footprint has expanded across the wider MENA region and East Africa to meet shifting client demands.
• • In the agri-food sector, aggressive capital investments are rapidly transforming Saudi Arabia’s poultry sector to meet critical national food security benchmarks under Vision 2030. Extending our capabilities beyond core GCC borders, IMES executed comprehensive market assessments in Egypt, Iraq, and Jordan to support inbound European strategies. Furthermore, our sectoral footprint successfully diversified into beef, sheepmeat, and value-added processing pipelines across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and East Africa. Meanwhile, mature GCC dairy markets are experiencing more moderate growth rates compared to historical norms. Future market differentiation relies heavily on high-margin product innovation, with key growth drivers including Greek yogurt, functional protein beverages, plant-based dairy alternatives, and robustly expanding processed cheese categories.
• • Driven by Saudi Vision 2030 mandates to bridge steep domestic supply gaps in horticulture, IMES has observed a strong surge in advisory briefs focused on advanced agricultural infrastructure. Our project portfolio heavily features Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), including commercial feasibility for retractable-roof glasshouses, automated vertical farming systems, and deployment frameworks for specialized Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring solutions.
• • Beyond agriculture, the Leisure & Entertainment vertical has materialized as a cornerstone of our commercial due diligence and market entry practices. Throughout the GCC, our cross-functional teams advised on diverse property developments. These spanned from urban concepts like Family Entertainment Centres (FECs) and “Foodtainment” hubs to experiential hospitality projects, including culturally integrated heritage attractions, desert glamping camps, mountain eco-retreats, and boutique urban lifestyle hotels.
• • Supporting these sectors, our corporate advisory practice remains a trusted partner for financial institutions, institutional investors, government entities, and development agencies. In 2023, our teams successfully matched cross-border investment partners with local joint-venture opportunities through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) frameworks. By delivering comprehensive, bankable feasibility studies, commercial due diligence reports, and route-to-market strategies, IMES continues to accelerate regional economic value and diversification across high-growth Middle Eastern corridors.