Food for Thought: Taste, Trends, and Triumphs

Welcome to the KPMG Kuwait Food and Beverage Report — Food for Thought: Taste‚ trends, and triumphs. 

The food and beverage (F&B) sector‚ like many others‚ is undergoing significant transformations. Rapid changes in the behavior of consumers as well as restaurant and café owners‚ among others in the business‚ have reshaped the industry’s landscape and are continuing to‚ making it a hot plate to serve success on.  

We didn’t want to miss this opportunity. Therefore‚ we set out on a mammoth task to peel the giant onion that is Kuwait’s F&B industry and uncover both sides of the bread from the consumers’ and the businesses’ perspectives.  

For six months‚ we surveyed over 350 consumers and spoke to 5 business owners to present a clearer picture that illustrates the interplay between what the consumers want and what the businesses are doing about it, particularly in the restaurants and cafés segment of the F&B sector.

One of the interesting finds from our consumer survey was the prevalence of Lebanese‚ Indian and the local food as three of the most sought-after cuisines in the country‚ highlighting the potential for Kuwait to become a culinary capital in the GCC region.

We also discovered that contrary to the expected pervasiveness of food-delivery apps‚ nearly a fourth of Kuwait’s residents still use traditional methods such as phoning in a restaurant to order their food and (or) drinks. 

The report also features interviews with industry leaders to offer more insight into the current state of Kuwait’s F&B industry and what can be anticipated. 

These industry leaders include Abdulaziz AlTuraiji, CEO, TABCo Food, Mubarak Jaffar, Co-Founder and CEO, KLC Virtual Restaurants, Eng. Mohammad Al-Mutairi, CEO, Aleid Foods, Khaled Naga, CEO — Restaurants Sector, Al Thiqa Food Group Company (TFGC), and Inspired Edibles, Kuwait.

My sincere thanks go out to them for helping us make this report all the more valuable. Finally‚ I am thankful to everyone whose contribution helped bring this thought leadership publication to life. 

As I encourage you to read on‚ I am positive there is more value for you to take away from this publication and apply to the different endeavors that you may have.  

I am hopeful that the report will help refresh your outlook on the sector and support you in identifying and capitalizing on some, if not all, of the palatable opportunities present in it. 

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.