About Us
We’re a boutique F&B innovation consultancy where strategic thinking meets bold creativity, clarity and zero bias.
We partner with F&B Brands to Innovate with Purpose: Revolutionizing Food & Beverage for Healthier Lives and a Sustainable Future.
Our clients have so much FUN during our workshops. Fun is an integral part of creativity, and we maximize on this.
We bring cross-functional teams together to tackle innovation challenges through strategic collaboration and co-creation, where design thinking meets business impact.
Meet Our Founder
Seda Solmaz
Talk about an AWESOME Storyteller… With Contagious POSITIVE ENERGY and endless PASSION & CREATIVITY for what she does!
Seda Solmaz is an award-winning entrepreneur, the Founder & CEO of Idea Atelier, a boutique F&B innovation agency empowering both startups and large FMCG players build profitable, future-ready innovation pipelines.
With over two decades in F&B, Seda specializes in turning ideas into commercially viable products so brands launch with confidence. She works closely with early-stage founders to bring focus, sharpen priorities turning ambition into clear, executable next steps. In parallel, she partners with large FMCG companies bringing fresh perspective to unlock white spaces, de-risk innovation and build innovation pipelines that drive sustainable business growth.
Known for her sharp consumer lens and structured yet playful approach, Seda champions co-creation as a growth engine, bringing teams together to create bigger, bolder ideas that solve real consumer needs and make innovation profitable fast.
Seda actively contributes to the regional startup ecosystem, curating events that connect founders with peers and mentors, creating space to learn from those who have truly been there, done that. She hosts VIP events for F&B leaders to exchange unfiltered insights, challenge conventional thinking and shape what’s next for the region’s food and beverage landscape.
She is a frequent judge for the Gulfood, ISM Innovation Awards and a sought-after speaker across the region for F&B events. Featured on Dubai Eye 103.8 for her foresight, Seda continues to influence the future of F&B industry on a global scale.
Seda has been awarded Emerging Women Entrepreneur of the Year 2024, she was named one of UAE’s 20 Most Creative Women CEOs 2025 whilst Idea Atelier was named Best Growth Innovation Agency MEA in 2025.
Our Awards
What Our Clients Say
Testimonials
Clementine Raisin-Hauvespre
Seda has been instrumental in the launch of my innovative drink brand. Her knowledge of the F&B industry, combined with her analytical skills to best leverage both consumer and market insights and her passion for product innovation made her the perfect partner to help bring our ambitious vision to life. Seda never takes no for an answer and always thinks creatively about the most challenging situations, making her a very precious ally to any entrepreneur willing to push the boundaries and reinvent their category. I’ve rarely met someone with such professional standards and being at the same time the nicest and sweetest person to work with. She truly cares about what she does and about bringing the best to her clients. If you envision working with Seda, I can only recommend you to go for it! 200%!
Jo Webber
Partnering with Seda is always a pleasure. She is a great example of someone who strives to drive organizational change.
We worked together on Firmenich’s first ever attendance at Gulfood Manufacturing, where we won the Best Stand Award. Which was testament to her creativity, vision and customer centric approach.
3 words I’d use to describe Seda: strategic, innovative, experience-led!
Mazen Kanaan
We have done an innovation workshop with Seda and it helped a lot to understand trends and organize our thinking and planning our next big thing. I highly recommend F&B startups to work with Seda to help them plan their product innovations.
Marc Iskandarani
I highly recommend Seda Solmaz for her exceptional creative talents, professionalism, and outstanding communication skills. Her meticulous work and ability to effectively animate groups make her a valuable asset to any team or company. Her strong experience, her analytical skills and creativity would undoubtedly contribute to the success of any project xor organization.
Mona Tavassolian
One of the most inspiring professionals I’ve met and worked with. We met first during an Innovation Workshop, designed & led by Seda, for our portfolio enhancement challenges. It’s often rare to be able to orchestrate a technique where you can combine consumer centric insight, business needs & priorities plus meaningful creativity, and Seda mastered that beautifully which resulted in product ideas that fed our innovation pipeline for the following years.
Didem Molay Sevin
With 17 years in marketing, I’ve seen plenty—but working with Idea Atelier truly shifted our perspective. Despite trying traditional research and AI tools, we struggled to build an innovation funnel that resonated with chefs and operators. In just two high-energy days, Seda and her team brought together cross-functional stakeholders, led us through fresh ideation methods, and helped us generate 46 ideas—23 of which we’ve now prioritized for development. Thanks to their co-creation approach, we finally have a strong, focused innovation pipeline for the years ahead.