Established in 1976, Saudia Dairy and Foodstuff Company (SADAFCO) is a leading food manufacturer, seller and distributor based in Saudi Arabia with operations across the Middle East. It does marketing of its core products under its flagship brand “Saudia”, a name associated with “Saudia Dairy and Foodstuff Company”. After the company’s formative years of joint ventures and mergers between GCC and international businessmen and businesses, SADAFCO ownership was transferred to GCC interests and in 2005, SADAFCO became a public-listed company in Saudi Arabia.
Blaze to Brilliance
During the past few years the company has expanded its product range with new launches in the Breakfast Cream, Cheese, Butter, Powdered Milk, Ketchup, Fortified Children’s Milk and Frozen French Fries categories. SADAFCO factories currently produce more than 30 million cases of product per annum, its long-distance transportation trucks travel 12 million kilometers each year delivering product to depots across the GCC and over 400 sales routes are operated throughout the region to distribute the company’s products to more than 25,000 customers. The brand has established sales and distribution network of 19 depots in Saudi Arabia, one in Qatar, one in Bahrain and one in Jordan providing the company with wide sales penetration. In addition, the company accesses Kuwait and the U.A.E. through external distributors/agents. SADAFCO’s manufacturing facilities are located in Jeddah (two factories) and Dammam. Since its establishment in 1976, SADAFCO has been a leader in the UHT (Long Life) milk market in Saudi Arabia, with the Saudia brand capturing more than half of the long-life milk market and almost a third of total drinking milk. In addition to UHT milk, the company also manufactures Tomato Paste, Ice Cream, Snacks and Drinks, with Saudia Tomato Paste also enjoying the status of a market leader.
Faith Factor
The USP of the brand has been to develop, produce and market a range of nutritious food propositions for all age groups and create maximum shareholder value through teamwork and this has ultimately helped them be the brand of everyone’s choice.
Sadafco had launched a product called the ‘Saudia Evaporated Milk’ in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in a unique easy-to-pour, re-sealable carton pack. It offered tea lovers the convenience of a re-sealable pack that could be neatly and hygienically stored in the refrigerator between uses. This new product was a highappeal, unique proposition for consumers and it quickly attracted attention and secured a place as the preferred Tea Whitener in the region.
Another product offering from Sadafco called the ‘Saudia Low-Fat Milk 500ml’ was introduced as an addition to the Saudia Milk family. The Saudia Whole Milk 500ml pack has been a strong performer for the company and currently enjoys a market share of more than two-thirds for this pack in Saudi Arabia. The half-liter pack is considered to be a lightusage, multi-purpose package which has strong support from the many bachelor expatriates in the Kingdom.
ENGAGEMENT THAT ENTHRALLS
The brand had launched a unique campaign called the ‘100 Million Chances to Win with Saudia Milk’ in Saudi Arabia. It was a first-of-itskind promotion and it received over 100,000 responses from 36 cities nationwide. The promotion gave the public 100 million chances to win a whole host of prizes, including bigticket items such as Sony PlayStations and PSPs, Nintendo Wiis, Laptops, Apple iPods and Nokia N96 mobile phones. This was the first campaign in the Kingdom’s fast moving dairy consumer goods industry which leveraged the power of the mobile phone.
As a leading regional food manufacturer, the group has implemented a Food Safety Management System (FSMS) according to the internationally accepted ISO 22000:2005 Standard. FSMS is a network of interrelated elements that combine to ensure that food does not cause adverse human health effects. These would include programs, plans, policies, procedures, practices, processes, objectives, controls, roles, responsibilities, documentation, records and resources involved throughout the processing of food products. In order to allow consumers to experience to the taste and quality of its new product ‘Saudia Evaporated Milk’ an awareness-building campaign which included sampling was implemented at popular shopping locations across the Kingdom.
INNOVEDGE
SADAFCO was awarded the 2012 Arab Beverages Association (ABA) Qatrah Award for Dairy which recognizes innovation in the Arab beverages industry. SADAFCO was also one of the Gold Sponsors for the event. The brand had introduced an innovative campaign that promised to enhance a Saudi woman’s daily cooking experience with easy to implement creative concepts, expert tips and professional guidance.
Titled, ‘My Saudia Kitchen’, the unique program was aimed at helping Saudi women manage their daily work effectively while also learning creative skills for a holistic culinary experience. Under the campaign, a highly informative ‘My Saudia Kitchen’ magazine was specially introduced with a three step ‘plan’, ‘cook’ and ‘impress’ guide for the different stages of creating a delightful meal. The program was the brand’s endeavour to enrich a woman’s cooking experience in a never before experienced manner.
Brand Promise
SADAFCO is committed to the introduction of new products in the market, expansion of the company’s operations into new geographical areas, and the acquisition of new companies with values like Integrity, respect for all, passion & quality. The company’s corporate mission is ‘To develop, produce and market a range of nutritious food propositions for consumers of all age groups and create maximum shareholder value through team work’. This mission remains the company’s drive as it explores consumer needs to seek out more relevant product offerings to add to the Saudia range. The process of preparing, auditing and certifying SADAFCO factories with ISO 22000 Standards has already been done which guarantee quality and confirm to consumers that the trust that they have placed in the brand for more than three decades is justified.
