Saudi Arabia is all set to get a new factory for French fries. A subsidiary of Americana Holding for Food is putting up $100 million into the manufacturing plant in Riyadh’s Sudair Industrial and Business City.
Set for opening early 2026, this is the second joint venture Americana has with Egypt’s Farm Frites in the MENA region, to produce frozen French fries and specialty potato products. The new facility will be on 100,000 square meters plus land, and will have a total annual production capacity of 70,000 MT during Phase 1 of the factory being commissioned.
Americana and Fram Frites are building on a 30-year alliance with the launch of the new plant in Riyadh. “Our partnership with Farm Frites dates back over three decades, having been partners in Egypt since 1988,” said Mohamed Ali Rashid Alabbar, Chairman of Kuwait Food Company (Americana).
A lot of the future production of French fries will be consumed in-house. Americana Restaurants, with listings on ADX and Saudi Tadawul, is the Middle East’s biggest F&B operator, with franchises including Pizza Hut and KFC. “We are set to become the largest producers of frozen French fries in the MENA region,” said Piet de Bruijne, Owner and Chairman of Farm Frites.
In October, quarterly profits at Americana Restaurants, which is listed on the UAE and Saudi stock exchanges, shrunk by 54% year-on-year to $37.4 million in the third quarter of 2024, as the boycott of US brands over perceived support for Israel continued to impact operations in the Middle East. Revenue for the quarter was $555 million, down 15% from the same period a year earlier.
Americana’s KFC and Pizza Hut outlets have been targeted with boycotts due to the Gaza conflict, in part because Yum! Brands, the chain’s parent company in the US, has invested in Israeli startups.
