FrieslandCampina takes home a win at Middle East Technology Excellence Awards 2025

Rainbow Karak Café was recognised for pioneering Direct-to-Consumer innovation and a bold digital transformation.

FrieslandCampina landed the E-Commerce - Consumer Products (Non-Durables) category win at the coveted Middle East Technology Excellence Awards 2025, in recognition of the success of its Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) model, Rainbow Karak Café – a bold pivot towards digital transformation.

The award was accepted on behalf of FrieslandCampina by Alisha Malik, Head of eCommerce, recognising the team's efforts in redefining how a legacy FMCG brand engages consumers through digital-first innovation.

Rainbow Karak Café is the region's first cloud-kitchen beverage concept launched by a dairy brand. Built as a digitally native brand experience, it offers freshly brewed Karak on a perfect shelf alongside a curated selection of complementary snacks and desserts, creating new occasions for consumption whilst strengthening FrieslandCampina's direct relationship with consumers through leading delivery platforms.

Under the leadership of the eCommerce team, the initiative brought together cross-functional expertise from across FrieslandCampina's global network. Trademark approvals were secured in the Netherlands, quality assurance was led from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, packaging development was managed across India, and execution was driven from the UAE - demonstrating an agile, cross-border collaborative operating model that took the concept from ideation to market in record time.

The results have been equally compelling. Within its first 12 months, Rainbow Karak Café achieved 2% household penetration in Dubai, delivered 5% month-on-month growth, and optimised cost per trial whilst reinforcing Rainbow's premium brand positioning during a market-wide price increase. The initiative contributed to customer retention and acquisition through a differentiated consumer experience, supporting the continued market leadership of Rainbow, which today commands a 75% share of the evaporated milk category in the UAE.

The platform's performance is continuously measured through digital campaign analytics, delivery platform insights, operational profitability, and real-time consumer feedback, enabling rapid optimisation, and data-driven decision-making and course correction. This approach has helped Rainbow Karak Café achieve top search visibility, maintain high consumer ratings, and optimise its product taxonomy to convert casual shoppers into loyal customers across leading delivery platforms.

Following its successful launch, Rainbow Karak Café has expanded to five cloud kitchens across Dubai and is now positioned for regional scale. The model enables rapid product innovation through digital insights, strategic partnerships, and co-branding opportunities with cafés and quick-service restaurants. Its asset-light approach creates sustainable growth with minimal operational overheads and no brick-and-mortar investment, whilst opening new consumption occasions for the Rainbow brand.

"This recognition reflects what is possible when digital commerce moves beyond transactions to create meaningful consumer experiences," said Alisha Malik, Head of eCommerce at FrieslandCampina. "Rainbow Karak Café is more than just a tech solution – it is a representation of a new frontier for legacy brands, reinvention of brand purpose and relentless customer focus. It challenged us to rethink how a heritage brand could engage consumers in today's digital-first world. By combining technology, data, operational agility, and strong cross-functional collaboration, we created a scalable business model that delivers value for consumers whilst unlocking new avenues for growth. This award is a testament to the incredible teams across multiple markets whose expertise and commitment brought this vision to life."

The Middle East Technology Excellence Awards celebrate organisations that are shaping the region's technology landscape through innovation, digital transformation, and measurable business impact. FrieslandCampina's recognition underscores its continued commitment to leveraging technology and consumer-centric innovation to accelerate growth and redefine the future of FMCG commerce in the Middle East.

The Middle East Technology Excellence Awards is presented by Asian Business Review Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2026 awards programme and be acclaimed for your company's outstanding contributions in pursuit of technological innovation, please contact Danica Avila at [email protected].