Abu Dhabi-listed food and beverages (F&B) group Agthia has expanded in Saudi Arabia with a AED 90 million ($24 million) investment to tap into the kingdom’s growing protein market.

The company launched on Monday its latest asset, a new protein manufacturing facility in Jeddah’s Industrial City 1, as part of a plan to boost its production capacity and meet the rising demand for protein and frozen products in the kingdom, a statement on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) said.

The new facility is also in line with the Group’s long-term strategy to establish itself as one of the leaders in the F&B sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The processed meat market in Saudi Arabia is forecast to reach $7.11 billion 2030, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 5.49%.

Spanning 9,000 square metres, the manufacturing facility has a production capacity of more than 9,000 tonnes. It has an in-house microbiology and sensory evaluation laboratories and two production lines capable of manufacturing more than 50 distinct SKUs.

The company, which owns “Al Ain” bottled water, posted a 32% growth in net profit and 22.6% rise in net revenue during the first quarter of the year.

(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria) seban.scaria@lseg.com