For agrifood companies operating in recent years, navigating uncertainty has meant making difficult decisions, reassessing priorities, preserving continuity, and finding ways to adapt within circumstances largely outside their control. While challenges evolve and contexts shift, the need for preparedness, agility, and resilience remains constant.
It was within this context that QOOT Cluster launched its Weekly Learning Hours – Resilience Series, a capacity-building initiative designed to provide members with practical insights, peer learning opportunities, and actionable tools to strengthen their ability to navigate uncertainty, adapt to changing environments, and build more resilient businesses.
And while the context in which it started was undeniably shaped by periods of heightened disruption, its purpose was never about reacting to a moment in time. It was about building capabilities that outlast it.
Over five thematic sessions and a dedicated Financial Risk Management Workshop, the initiative brought together industry leaders and experts to explore resilience from multiple angles: finance, supply chains, consumer behavior, retail dynamics, quality systems, and business continuity.
Because resilience is not a reaction, it is a discipline.
Looking Ahead Through Scenarios Rather Than Predictions
The journey began with a session on Scenario Planning and Crisis Profitability Management, led by Mr. Zaher Ballout, General Manager of Debbane Agri / Debbane Frères SAL and QOOT Cluster Board Member, alongside Mr. Naji Naccouzi, Chief Executive Officer of Brasserie Almaza and QOOT Cluster Board Member.
Rather than focusing on predicting outcomes, the session encouraged companies to think in possibilities and prepare for multiple realities.
Participants were introduced to a practical framework for building financial scenarios based on volume shifts, cost pressures, pricing dynamics, and profitability outcomes. What stood out was not only the technical depth of the model, but the discipline it imposed: decisions should not rely on a single forecast, but on a range of possible realities.
From baseline P&Ls to pricing simulations and mitigation levers, the message was clear – resilience starts long before disruption happens, it starts with preparedness.
Building Supply Chains That Can Adapt
The second session shifted the conversation from financial resilience to operational continuity. Supply Chain Management in Times of Crisis was delivered by Mr. Mourad Aoun, Chief Executive Officer of The Net Global Group, who shared practical insights into managing logistics disruptions and maintaining business continuity in increasingly complex environments.
Rather than isolated disruptions, supply chain challenges were presented as interconnected systems influenced by geopolitical tensions, energy fluctuations, and infrastructure constraints.
From air freight limitations to ocean freight surcharges and trucking bottlenecks, one idea emerged consistently: logistics is no longer a predictable backbone – it is a variable system.
Companies were encouraged to think in scenarios across transport modes, build alternative routing logic, and accept a new operational reality where delays, cost volatility, and complexity are embedded – not exceptional.
Resilience, in this context, became less about efficiency and more about adaptability.
Understanding Consumers in Times of Change
As operational realities continue to evolve, so too do consumer expectations and purchasing habits.
The third session, Consumer Behavior in Times of Disruptions, was led by Mr. Ralph Bou Khalil, Managing Director of Toters Fresh, and Mr. Elias Azzi, Senior Commercial Manager at Toters Fresh, offering participants a closer look at how consumer behavior shifts during periods of uncertainty.
Drawing on market observations and platform insights, the session explored several notable trends on how consumption patterns shift during uncertain environments — not gradually, but rapidly.
Online adoption accelerates. Purchasing becomes more intentional. Essentials replace premium goods. Brand loyalty becomes flexible. And price sensitivity intensifies, reshaping demand logic across categories.
What emerged was a critical realization: consumer behavior is not static — it compresses, adapts, and re-prioritizes under pressure.
For businesses, this meant rethinking how demand is interpreted. Not as a stable curve, but as a living system influenced by availability, emotion, and perceived security.
From Consumer Trends to Retail Reality
The fourth session extended the conversation into the retail landscape. Led by Mr. Najib Mousallem, Head of Commercial – FMCG Food across Spinneys, Monoprix, Happy, GrabnGo, and NokNok, the discussion explored how changing consumer priorities are reshaping retail strategies and commercial decisions. Here, theory met shelf reality.
Participants examined four major behavioral shifts: the growing preference for essentials over premium products, the transition from impulse purchasing toward more planned buying patterns, evolving responses to pricing changes, and the increasing role of product availability in shaping consumer trust.
One of the strongest insights from this session was deceptively simple: in uncertain environments, availability itself becomes a competitive advantage.
Consumers continue to seek value, but they also seek reassurance. Consistency, accessibility, and reliability increasingly influence purchasing decisions and strengthen relationships between brands and consumers. For businesses, understanding these retail dynamics is becoming just as important as understanding the consumer itself.
Strengthening Quality Systems for Long-Term Continuity
The fifth and final session focused on another critical pillar of resilience: quality management. Quality Management Systems in Times of Crisis was led by Ms. Marilyn Abdessater, Business Development Manager at Rentokil Boecker, with contributions from Ms. Bana Kobrosly, Managing Director – Lebanon & Jordan at Rentokil Boecker.
Rather than viewing quality as compliance, the discussion reframed it as continuity infrastructure.
Food safety systems, certification integrity, and export readiness were positioned not as regulatory requirements, but as strategic enablers of market access – especially in volatile environments where global standards remain unchanged even when local conditions shift.
Updates such as FSSC 22000 V7, risk-based supplier monitoring, and climate-related considerations reinforced a broader message: quality systems must evolve continuously to remain relevant. In this sense, quality is increasingly about building confidence, maintaining credibility, and safeguarding long-term competitiveness.
Turning Knowledge Into Action
Complementing the Resilience Series, QOOT deepened the initiative through a Financial Risk Management Workshop, delivered in collaboration with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and facilitated by Chartouni and Partners.
This workshop marked a shift from discussion to application. Across three structured sessions: a general overview for all participants, a tailored session for SMEs, and a dedicated session for larger companies. Participants moved from understanding crisis frameworks to actively building financial control systems — including cash flow monitoring, scenario planning tools, working capital analysis, KPI dashboards, and structured resilience action plans.
SMEs worked with 13-week cash flow models and 30/60/90-day planning frameworks, while larger companies adapted governance-level financial structures across multiple entities and operational layers.
What made this workshop particularly impactful was not only its content, but its practicality – participants left with tools they could immediately integrate into their operations. Resilience, here, became measurable.
Resilience Is a Continuous Journey
Taken individually, each session explored a different dimension of business resilience. Together, they offered a broader perspective on what it means to build companies capable of adapting, responding, and navigating uncertainty over time.
From financial planning and supply chain agility to evolving consumer behavior, retail dynamics, quality management, and financial preparedness, the Resilience Series provided agrifood businesses with opportunities to reflect, exchange experiences, and strengthen capabilities that remain relevant well beyond periods of disruption.
Because resilience is not about eliminating uncertainty. It is about developing the mindset, systems, and tools that allow businesses to move forward despite it.
And while challenges may continue to evolve, one lesson remains clear: Resilience is not built in moments of stability or crisis alone – it is built in the discipline of preparation, adaptation, and continuous learning.
And that is perhaps the most important outcome of this journey.
