Almarai Company is First in the World to Achieve Pandemic Prepared Certification

Almarai Company is First in the World to Achieve Pandemic Prepared Certification Middle East’s Largest Food and Beverage and World’s Largest Vertically Integrated Dairy Company Elevates Best Practices in Preparation for the Future

Contact: Mark Crouser, mcrouser@aibinternational.com, (816) 582-8839 (Download release: AIB International Almarai Achieves Certification To PPC Release FINAL) Manhattan, Kan. (Oct. 27, 2020) – Saudi Arabia-based Almarai Company, a leading food and beverage company and the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy operation, has become the first company in the world to achieve Pandemic Prepared Certification. This proactive measure is testimony to how their operation prepares for the future with this best-in-class protocol benchmark. Even during the ongoing pandemic, Certification provides assurance to their employees, supply chain and consumers that they are committed to establishing and maintaining best practices. “Almarai is such a leading and influential brand, so for them to be the first to become Certified as Pandemic Prepared speaks to both the quality of the standard and Almarai’s ongoing commitment to their employees, customers and consumers. Their work in achieving Certification has been unmatched and I’m confident they’ll continue seeing its benefits well into the future,” said Steve Robert, Global Vice-President, Sales/Marketing and Product Innovation, AIB International. “Leading brands like Almarai understand the value of implementing and upholding industry-recognized best practices for supporting food safety and quality, employee health and business continuity. This results in not only internal and social benefits, but also significant bottom-line impacts due to their demonstrated commitment to decreased risk.” As part of their ongoing commitment to continuous improvement, Almarai wanted to ensure that their internal policies, programs and procedures already in place to deal with crisis management were effective and robust enough to meet the highest levels of scrutiny. They used the standard to evaluate their current practices and aligned where necessary. Their holistic approach included collaboration of Quality, Health & Safety, Enterprise Risk Management, Business Continuity, Procurement, as well as Site Operational teams, all of whom contributed to achieve an exceptional score for the certification audit. It is a clear endorsement of the work done by Almarai, not only in preparation for the audit, but over many years of world class operations to stay true to their principles of “Quality you can trust”. "At Almarai, as one of the most trusted food brands in Middle East, food safety and security is in the heart of everything we do to insure providing the best possible products every day to millions of consumers who trust our brand," said Abdulla Alotaibi, Head of corporate communication & PR, Almarai Company. "This certification allows Almarai to show both customers and consumers our reinforced commitment to providing world class food and beverage products, even under the most challenging circumstances." Launched in July, the Pandemic Prepared Certification was developed because the food and beverage supply chain were ill-prepared for a global pandemic and the associated disruption it created in nearly every aspect of business operation world-wide. Almarai successfully demonstrated proficiency in five distinct areas to become certified to the standard:

1. Pandemic Crisis Management;
2. Supply Chain Management;
3. Intermittent Operations Planning Management;
4. Health Crisis Mitigation Measures and Management; and,
5. Pre-Requisite Program Review.

While the Pandemic Prepared Certification requires an investment, active risk management protocols and continuous refinement to remain Certified, Almarai is now recognized as bringing the highest standards of integrity to the global food and beverage supply chain. By successfully passing the audit, Almarai is also now able to use the AIB International Pandemic Prepared Certification mark. This mark of assurance demonstrates that they have successfully completed the certification, resulting in increased trust with key stakeholders in the “best in class” crisis management planning and protocols they have in place.

# # #

About Almarai Company Founded in 1977, Almarai Company is the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy company and the region’s largest food and beverage manufacturing and distribution company. Headquartered in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Almarai Company is ranked as the number one FMCG Brand in the MENA region and is market leader in all its categories across the GCC. With more than 40 years of sustainable growth, Almarai Company continues to provide nutritious and healthy products to consumers of all ages with its growth stemming from its bedrock principle, “Quality you can trust”. In addition to its high-quality dairy products, Almarai Company has diversified its product portfolio to include juices, bakery, poultry and infant formula under the brand names Almarai, L’usine, 7DAYS and ALYOUM. Almarai Company has successful joint ventures with Chipita and PepsiCo. In 2019, Almarai Company reported net income of SAR 1.8 billion on sales of SAR 14.35 billion. For more information, please visit the Almarai Company website: http://www.almarai.com. About AIB International For more than 100 years, AIB International has partnered with our clients to bring the enjoyment of safe, high-quality food to consumers everywhere. Through customized Training, Inspections & Consulting, Regulatory assistance and Certification services, our global team of food safety and quality professionals has grown to service more than 120 countries and is committed to helping food and beverage supply chain companies to apply the highest standards of integrity. Visit www.aibinternational.com for more information.