At the 29th edition of HORECA Lebanon, held from April 8 to 11, 2025, Berytech’s Food System Challenge (FSC) took the spotlight, showcasing 18 of its beneficiary SMEs and their innovative agrifood products and solutions. The event marked another key milestone for the program, emphasizing its mission to drive transformation and resilience in Lebanon’s national food system.
Empowering Local Agrifood Innovation
The Food System Challenge aims to empower Lebanese SMEs in tackling the country’s food security and sustainability issues. The program offers technical assistance, business development support, and funding to help scale impactful solutions that can transform the food system in Lebanon.
One such SME that was present at HORECA with FSC is Agrifresh, a natural produce company supplying ready-cut vegetables and fruits to restaurants. “Thanks to FSC, we expanded our product line to include dehydrated produce,” said Roy Njeim, CEO of Agrifresh. “This helped to provide a substitute for imports and reduced our waste.”
“We’re happy to be at HORECA showcasing the Food System Challenge, its beneficiaries, methodology, and the impact it has made on the food system in Lebanon to enhance food security and support the production of quality local products,” said Nivine Chaaban, SMEs Program Manager at Berytech.
Throughout the four-day event, the FSC booth featured a rotating lineup of five businesses per day, each displaying a diverse range of food products.
Supporting Local Production
“Forty SMEs are now part of the FSC program,” said Elie Bou Faysal, FSC Program Coordinator and Technical Advisor. “Being here at HORECA is one of the many ways we demonstrate Berytech’s and the FSC’s commitment to powering potential.” He further shared that the program helped SMEs reach a point where they could grow to meet larger demand. “We reached a point where we needed to grow to supply a larger demand, and FSC helped us do just that,” Elie added.
L’Arome Delights, a company producing healthy, additive-free cookies and crackers, was also present at HORECA. “FSC was crucial to helping us grow our business,” explained Rouba Fayad, founder of L’Arome. “FSC came at the perfect time for me, during the onset of the financial crisis in Lebanon, when I had no access to my savings or banks. It gave me the funds I needed to grow the business.”
Another SME present at HORECA with FSC was Bio Nord, a local dairy business. “With FSC, we’re working on developing local Lebanese Greek Yoghurt,” said Sarah Harb, the founder of Bio Nord. “This is our first time at HORECA, and it’s such an amazing opportunity to showcase our brand and get exposure.”
Broader Impact of FSC
HORECA Lebanon 2025 proved to be a valuable platform for FSC-supported SMEs, offering crucial visibility and market exposure. Many participants were able to establish connections with buyers, distributors, and collaborators both locally and regionally.
“FSC is a program we started in 2022 in collaboration with Berytech,” said Jawad Bou Ghanem, Program Policy Officer at the World Food Programme (WFP). “We believe that supporting local agrifood businesses helps not only the initiatives themselves, but also the wider network around them—from farmers to producers and consumers.”
He added, “Lebanon has significant potential to advance its agrifood sector. Through FSC, we selected businesses that are creating real impact in their communities and the country. We want to stand by these businesses and support an entrepreneurial ecosystem that nurtures local initiative.”
Featured SMEs
The following SMEs were featured through the FSC program during HORECA 2025:
- Dairy Baroud
- AGROFITT SAL
- Agrifresh
- Nat Bio
- Kanz Beit el Baraka
- Sheghel Emeh
- Beyond Organic
- Hachem Dairy
- Eshmoon Holistics
- Social Enterprise Cluster
- Plant It
- Del Libano
- Natura Spoon
- Nader Distilleries
- BIOMASS SAL
- Bionord
- Bon Choix / L’arôme
- RANK Group SARL (farmhill)
These enterprises exemplify the diversity and creativity within Lebanon’s food industry, underscoring the FSC program’s role in cultivating innovative responses to national food system challenges.
Want to learn more about our initiatives or get involved in the Food System Challenge? Follow us on social media at @berytech_ for updates or visit our website at www.berytech.org.
About FSC
The Food System Challenge is implemented by the World Food Programme (WFP) and Berytech, with funding from the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the United Nations World Food Programme.
