Industry Leaders Unite For ‘The Hot Take’ As UAE Pushes Food Innovation Agenda

As the UAE accelerates its ambitions to become a global centre for innovation, entrepreneurship and food resilience, one local founder is bringing together some of the region’s most influential Food & Beverage voices to ask a bold
question: Why import the future… when we can build it right here?

On 18 June, Seda Solmaz will host the third edition of her annual food and beverage industry gathering, introducing a bold new format for 2026: The Hot Take – an event designed to unite start-up founders, FMCG leaders, retailers, delivery platforms, investors and policymakers for one evening of honest discussion around what it will truly take to build globally relevant Food & Beverage brands from the UAE.

Unlike traditional events built around presentations and polished narratives, The Hot Take has been designed as a high-energy exchange of ideas featuring keynote sessions, unscripted conversations, founder stories and audience participation.

The event agenda brings together senior voices from across the ecosystem to discuss building the right infrastructure for local innovation, scalable growth, food security and the realities of growing brands in a rapidly changing region.

For Seda, however, the event represents something bigger than a one-night gathering. After years helping F&B brands unlock incremental revenue streams through innovation across multiple markets, she believes the UAE is entering a
defining moment where local capability, entrepreneurial ambition and industry collaboration must combine to create the next generation of regional success stories.

Through Idea Atelier, Seda has led innovation initiatives across the sector with a co- creation model centered around people, practical execution and commercially viable outcomes, supporting more than 70 partnerships across 18 markets, facilitating over 200 co-creation workshops, generating more than 8,000 concepts and helping bring over 50 ideas to market.

Seda Solmaz, Founder of Idea Atelier UAE, explains. “For years, the region has been exceptional at bringing global brands to market. But I believe the next chapter is about creating more of our own.”

“The UAE already has the ingredients, infrastructure, talent, ambition and access. What we need now is more open collaboration between founders, manufacturers, retailers, investors and decision makers.”

“The Hot Take was created to bring those voices into one room. No scripts. No corporate filters. Just honest conversations about what it really takes to build brands that start in the UAE and scale beyond it.”

The event’s programme will feature keynote conversations, a live panel discussion and founder spotlight sessions bringing together senior voices from across the region’s Food & Beverage ecosystem.

Confirmed participants include Saleh Lootah, Chairman of the UAE Food & Beverage Manufacturing Business Group; Zeinab Stapic, Head of Commercial McDonalds at Tanmiah; Peter Dillane, President and CEO APMEA at Kerry and
Ljiljana Kovacevic, Operations Manager at Caribou Coffee alongside founders and innovation leaders shaping the next generation of brands from the UAE.

Conversations will focus on localisation of innovation, scalability, food security, fast changing consumer behaviour and what it truly takes to build globally relevant businesses from the UAE.

With attendance intentionally limited to 75 seats, she expects a curated mix of innovators, operators, investors and ecosystem leaders.