Leading UAE food producer aims to cut energy and water use under high-tech partnership

Al Ain Farm Group has partnered with FoodIQ to improve efficiency and eliminate the use of preservatives

Al Ain Farms Group’s Marmum farm and production facility in Al Ain. Antonie Robertson / The National

A leading UAE food producer is embracing innovation in agriculture after joining forces with an enterprising Finnish technology company in an effort to slash energy and water consumption in its operations and create more nutritious meals.

Al Ain Farms Group (AAFG) - which was founded in 1981 and offers everything from dairy and poultry to juices and eggs - is working with Food1Q to introduce an eco-friendly system which allows for large-scale food production in an area only the size of a large office and eliminates the need for preservatives.

The deal is centred around FoodIQ's patented multilayer cooker (MLC), a food processing system that reduces energy and water use and supports the production of additive-free dairy and plant-based products.

The agreement marks the first time the system has been put to use outside Finland.

Responding to a hotter, hungrier future

A recent paper published in Nature science journal highlighted that agriculture yields globally are expected to fall sharply by mid-century because of rising temperatures and water scarcity.

In this context, Hassan Safi, group chief executive, Al Ain Farms Group, said the UAE's ability to produce food locally, using less water, energy, and land, is critical. He described the deal as a response to both national food security priorities, and the country's climate targets, including Net Zero 2050.

The MLC, developed over 10 years by FoodIQ in Finland, allows for flexible production of foods such as yoghurt, smoothies, milks and cheeses – without the typical infrastructure of industrial plants.

Mr Safi said that the system would allow the dairy maker to “produce high-quality products with no additives, no preservatives,” adding that he expects a 20 to 30 per cent increase in operational speed over conventional methods.

Commenting independently on the partnership, Aseel Takshe, acting dean, School of Health Sciences and Psychology at Canadian University Dubai, said that the deal directly supports the UAE’s strategic priorities in food security and climate action.

“The UAE’s National System for Sustainable Agriculture aims to boost local food production, reduce dependency on imports, and enhance resilience to climate change by leveraging modern agricultural technologies.”

According to Dr Takshe, modern systems like the MLC are critical to making agriculture in arid environments viable. “Such innovations are essential for building food systems that can withstand climate-induced shocks, ensuring food security in a warming world,” she told The National.

Al Ain Farms Group’s Marmum farm and production facility in Al Ain. Antonie Robertson / The National

A factory that can fit in an office room

Unlike traditional dairy plants that rely on sprawling infrastructure and kilometres of pipework, the MLC compresses multiple production stages – mixing, pasteurising, homogenising, and cooling – into a single modular unit that can fit inside a large office room.

“Think about it, just washing the 20 kilometres of piping in a typical dairy plant requires vast amounts of water,” Robert Savikko, chief executive of FoodIQ told The National when asked about the water and energy savings

“With our system, you're looking at maybe 10 metres. It's simpler and faster, and far more resource-efficient,” he said.

The gentler process also preserves more nutritional content, allowing foods to achieve longer shelf lives without chemical preservatives. “In conventional production, you often get yoghurt with banana flavour – but no banana,” Mr Savikko said. “We can make it with real banana, or oats, or dates. That's what clean label means.”

FoodIQ and Al Ain Farms expect the first wave of new products – still under wraps – to be on UAE shelves by the end of 2025. The MLC will be installed in a facility in Al Ain and integrated into the company's ecosystem.

Recycled water is used to cool dairy cows at Al Marmum farm as part of Al Ain Farm Group's sustainability initiatives. Antonie Robertson/The National

A model for climate resilience

For the UAE, the shift towards low-footprint, modular production represents more than technological advancement, it’s a strategy for resilience. During the coronavirus pandemic, the vulnerability of international supply chains was clear.

Mr Safi said technologies like MLC would help AAFG future-proof its operations by enabling the use of local ingredients, reducing dependence on imports, and shrinking environmental impact.

“Smaller set-ups mean less energy consumption, less water consumption,” he said. “That contributes directly to our sustainability objectives.”

While Mr Safi declined to give precise figures on expected resource savings, he said the company is already working towards eight of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals – through water recycling, animal welfare initiatives, and transitioning to recyclable material for plastic packaging.

Local tech for global systems

FoodIQ, which operates an MLC-based plant in Finland, sees the UAE as an important testbed for global expansion. The company is in negotiations to launch similar partnerships in the US, Asia, and across Europe.

The MLC is also being designed to integrate AI and machine learning capabilities to adapt recipes to local conditions – such as variations in water quality or air temperature.

“We saw with Covid, food security became a huge issue. This addresses food security head on, because you can produce locally with local ingredients,” Mr Savikko said.

With installation under way and first products expected within months, both partners describe the initiative as a milestone in redefining what sustainable food manufacturing can look like in a resource-scarce world.

As the UAE races to future-proof its food systems, the success of this partnership could serve as proof that the future of food may not lie in size, but in smartness.