CEO Insight from the Desert: Revolutionizing Food in Saudi Arabia
Just got back to Hong Kong from Riyadh - what an eye-opening 4-day business trip! 😮✈️🇸🇦
The Saudi government was incredibly welcoming. Our schedule was packed from 9 AM to 9 PM, leaving me a bit dizzy from all the meetings. We met with food manufacturers, venture capital funds, and people running startup accelerators and incubators. Their support for foreign startups, especially from Hong Kong, was surprisingly strong!
The most unforgettable part? The incredibly dry weather! 😅🏜️ My skin felt so dehydrated when I got back to Hong Kong. I'm not exaggerating, my face was peeling so much that people thought I'd had an intense facial peel! 😱
This trip taught me something crucial. Saudi Arabia really needs our technology! They face significant challenges in food distribution, especially during major events and religious observances when they need to feed millions of people.
Currently, they rely heavily on foods with long shelf lives like dried fruits, dates, Middle Eastern breads, cured meats, and pickles. For more complex meals, they use frozen pre-prepared dishes.
Our company's ASAP technology could be a game-changer. We can keep fresh, delicious food stable at room temperature for up to two years! (They were thrilled even at the prospect of two weeks.) This tech doesn't just extend shelf life - it could significantly improve their food logistics, transportation efficiency, and food safety standards.
Imagine being able to prepare vast quantities of fresh food well in advance of major events and distribute it gradually across the country. For Saudi Arabia, this technology could solve long-standing problems in food distribution and preservation. We could really make a huge impact there! 💡🍽️🌟
從利雅得返到香港，四日嘅商務之旅真係開眼界！😮✈️🇸🇦
沙特政府超級熱情，安排得妥妥貼貼。朝九晚九咁趕場，搞到我成個人都暈暈哋。見咗食品製造商、創投基金、仲有啲做創業加速和孵化器嘅人。佢哋對外國初創（最重要係香港初創）非常支持，真係估唔到！
不過最難忘嘅係嗰度嘅天氣，乾到痴線！😅🏜️ 返到香港之後，塊面乾到好似做咗果酸換膚咁！唔誇張吓，全程甩皮，啲人唔知以為我去咗做醫學美容，仲要係高濃度果酸嗰隻！😱💉
呢次旅程令我學到樣重要嘢。原來沙地阿拉伯真係好需要我哋嘅技術！佢哋喺食物分配方面面對好大挑戰，特別係大型活動同宗教節慶期間，要餵飽成百上萬人。
而家佢哋主要靠乾果、椰棗、中東包、鹹肉、醃菜呢啲耐放嘅嘢，複雜啲嘅就係急凍預製菜。
而我哋公司開發嘅ASAP技術，可以令新鮮美味嘅食物喺常溫下儲存兩年（佢哋話其實放到兩星期已經好得）。呢個技術不單止可以延長食物保質期，仲可以大大改善佢哋嘅物流運輸效率，同時提高食物安全水平。
想像一下，如果可以喺大型活動前就預先準備好大量新鮮食品，然後喺全國各地慢慢分發，會有幾大嘅幫助？對於沙特嚟講，呢個技術可以幫佢哋解決一個長期以嚟嘅難題，真係可以喺度大派用場！💡🍽️🌟
About the Author:
Felix Cheung is the Founder and CEO of IXON, a Hong Kong startup that specializes in food preservation. He co-invented advanced sous-vide aseptic packaging (ASAP) technology, which could enable the storage of minimally cooked meat, seafood and ready meals at room temperature, with his former classmate now co-founder Elton Ho, his former classmate who is now his co-founder. Felix holds a PhD degree in plasma physics from the University of Sydney and a master's degree in food analysis and food safety management from Hong Kong Baptist University. This post reflects his insights from a recent business trip to Saudi Arabia.
關於作者：
張文浩是 IXON 的創辦人兼行政總裁。IXON 是一間專門研究食物保存技術的香港初創企業。張文浩與其大學同學、現任聯合創辦人何耀權共同發明了先進低溫真空無菌包裝技術（ASAP）。此技術能夠使經過輕度烹調的肉類、海鮮以及即食餐在室溫下長期保存。張文浩擁有悉尼大學等離子物理學博士學位，以及香港浸會大學食品分析和食品安全管理碩士學位。本文反映了他近期赴沙特阿拉伯商務考察後的見解。