Plenty Unlimited Inc. and Mawarid Holding Investment entered an exclusive, multi-year region-wide collaboration to provide locally-grown fresh fruits and vegetables to nations across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The partnership that Plenty and Mawarid have formed is expected to put more than AED500 millions (US$130 million) in the first venture within the GCC which is a vertical farming facility located in Abu Dhabi, designed to increase the production of more than 2 million kg of fresh strawberries each year.

The joint venture intends to establish as many as five farms over the next five years that could require investments of as much as AED2.5 billion (US$680 million) as well as bringing hundreds of direct and indirect jobs for the area. Mawarid is an affiliate that is part of Alpha Dhabi Holding, a significant publicly traded company listed that is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX).

Kashif Shamsi and Arama Kukutai

It is expected that the Abu Dhabi farm will develop an all-year-round supply of strawberries that have a peak season flavor, both for locally-sourced UAE market as well as exports to different GCC countries, thereby replacing flights and decreasing food miles in comparison to imports. The entire production of strawberries is currently committed to Plenty Partner and world-class leader in berry production Driscoll’s and will provide its own breeding, international brand and vast market knowledge.

“As part of our plan to please berry lovers across the globe We are thrilled to work in this venture with Plenty and Mawarid on this innovative initiative,” said Soren Bjorn who is Director of Marketing at Driscoll’s. “The Gulf region and the United Arab Emirates specifically have since long been a great market for Driscoll’s. This project will allow us to ensure we are able to meet the needs of the consumers who use the market for a long time to come.”

The farm is the world’s first commercially-scale vertical strawberry farm that isn’t located in North America, following the launch of the first Plenty’s strawberry farm located in Virginia in the coming months – and in collaboration with Driscoll’s. The building of the Abu Dhabi farm-which will be roughly 7,500 square meters (81,000 square feet)-is scheduled to be finished at the end of 2026.

Plenty’s strawberry vertical system

“Mawarid is increasingly focusing on the adoption of cutting-edge technologies to help fulfill the UAE mission to develop modern food security systems,” said Mr. Kashif Shamsi, Group CEO of Mawarid. “Our international quest for sustainable solutions to the issues that we encounter within our region of the Middle East led us to the outstanding team of Plenty. This partnership enables us to harness the most sophisticated farming technologies available to increase the local supply of food across the GCC which starts by establishing our own market located in Abu Dhabi, while preserving the precious resources of nature.”

“Plenty is the first to have built a modern indoor farming system designed to not just meet the demands of consumers throughout the year, but also enabling the construction of an infrastructure for food security over the long term which can be adapted to the changing needs of areas such as that of the Middle East,” said Arama Kukutai, the CEO of Plenty. “The Mawarid team’s extensive expertise in the field of agriculture and land management throughout the Emirates make them an ideal partner for addressing these two possibilities in a place that is poised for a long time to take advantage of the potential of indoor farming.”

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