Recent history (2011–present)
Almarai announced in 2011 that they would be investing heavily in Saudi Arabia to increase dairy production in the country. Arab News reported that they would be creating an additional 12,000 jobs in the country over the next five years.[11] The joint venture with Pepsi continued to grow, when Reuters announced that both companies would invest a total of $345 million in Egypt's agriculture industry. It was seen as a positive move in the country, following 3 years of economic turmoil following the 2011 revolution in the country.[12] During the same year, they also made an announcement that they would be acquiring Fondomonte, a large farming company, based in Argentina.[13]
By 2014, the company controlled 44 percent of the dairy market in the Persian Gulf region.[14]
Between 2006 and 2016, the company grew rapidly. It was announced that their total staffing numbers had reached 38,000, which means the company created over thirty thousand jobs in a decade.[15] Later in 2016, Almarai announced that it would be acquiring land in the United States to expand its farming operations. The land would be purchased in a number of locations, predominantly in California for its farm-friendly water laws, acquiring in total around 14,000 acres.[3] In 2017, it was announced that Savola would reduce its stake in Almarai by 2 percent.[16]
The Kingdom's sovereign wealth fund announced in late 2017 that they would be acquiring a large share in Almarai, increasing their share to 16.32 percent. Bloomberg valued their investment at $2.4 billion. It was said to be a move by the Saudi Arabian wealth fund to diversify its portfolio away from oil investments. The move proved to be positive with investors, as the shares rose 4 percent following the announcement.[17]
In 2018, it was announced that Almarai was the most popular brand in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the third year in a row. This was according to a poll carried out by the British market research company, YouGov.[18] Later that year, it was announced that Almarai announced plans to invest $2.8 billion in Middle Eastern production facilities.[19] Between 2019 and 2023, Almarai was said to be focusing on the production facilities at farms in the region, but also its distribution and transportation in the region, so it would be easier to expand geographically throughout the Middle East.[20]
In March 2021, Almarai agreed to buy the UAE and Bahrain operations of Bakemart for $25.5 million.[21]
Almarai was the first dairy farm in Saudi Arabia to be accredited with ISO 22000.[22] Almarai also received the ISO 9001:2000 across all its operating divisions (farming, procurement, processing, technical research and development, distribution and supply chain).
