The problem
Palestinian families bought most of their milk, yogurt, and cheese from imported brands, because no local manufacturer matched imports on product range, quality, and daily availability.
How it works
Established in 2003 and headquartered in Hebron, Al Jebrini manufactures a wide range of dairy and food products — yogurt, sour cream, fresh and UHT milk, flavoured milk, white and yellow cheese, labneh, juices, hummus, salads, and dips — at plants including dairy farms and a salad facility at Al-Dahrya, 25 km south of Hebron. Goods move through distribution centres in Ramallah, Nablus, and Gaza under General Manager Jehad Al-Jebrini, reaching retailers across the West Bank and Gaza.
Pain points
Import-dependent grocery shelves, the cost and complexity of chilled distribution across fragmented territory, and the heavy water and energy footprint of dairy processing.
Business model
Margin on manufactured staples and value-added foods sold to Palestinian retailers, with reinvestment in plant efficiency: a UNIDO-backed resource-efficiency programme found €378,400 in annual energy and water savings — 10% less energy, 35% less water — for a €445,500 investment paying back in about 1.2 years.
Challenges
Keeping energy and water costs down in an intensive manufacturing process, holding chilled availability across three distribution hubs, and defending shelf space against cheaper imported brands.
Funding
- Raised: $9.56M IFC loan approved 18 December 2019 toward a $21.23M project cost, backing expansion including the Al-Dahrya salad production facility (IFC via Early Warning System).
Latest — Dec 2019
On 18 December 2019 the International Finance Corporation board approved a $9.56M loan to Al Jebrini — an Agriculture and Forestry investment toward a $21.23M expansion programme — confirming the Hebron manufacturer’s standing as one of the largest dairy companies in the West Bank and Gaza (Early Warning System).