Dubai-based frozen meals firm anticipating fast regional enlargement after acquiring GSO halal certification and establishing sturdy distributor community.
Dubai: Delektia Food, a producer of totally cooked, frozen and ready-to-heat meals, will launch greater than 70 merchandise over the subsequent three years and broaden into regional markets beginning with Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Ziad Bushnaq, co-founder and managing companion at Delektia, advised Salaam Gateway the Dubai-based firm at the moment has 10 products primarily based on Center Japanese recipes that embrace vegetarian, vegan and meat-based meals.
Among the many prime sellers are dawood basha (meatball stew), mloukhieh with rooster (stew made with mallow leaves), lentil soup and ruz with vermicelli (rice with damaged vermicelli). It’ll launch 4 merchandise within the coming weeks together with a vegan mloukhieh.
“Our Center Japanese delicacies is of course wholesome, however no one has taken it to this scale for retail. Bringing in conventional meals for the youthful generations who’re virtually forgetting these dishes was interesting,” stated Bushnaq.
He added most Center Japanese delicacies in eating places has turn out to be barbeques and appetizers and it was not simple to seek out “these homely meals our moms used to make”.
Earlier than launch, Delektia’s founders performed three years of analysis that concerned testing recipes of Center Japanese households to establish the profitable formulation.
“It was a mixture of consulting with a number of the greatest cooks and the quite a few moms and grandmothers. We have been taking a look at their black books to get that proper style,” stated Bushnaq.
Whereas the main focus is at the moment on Levantine classics, the corporate plans to broaden into different Center Japanese and worldwide cuisines together with conventional African, Filipino and Mexican.
Distributor-based technique
Based in 2021, Delektia has adopted a distributor-based, go-to-market technique which means it might attain grocery store cabinets and broaden comparatively swiftly. It contracted with Dubai-based Emirates Snack Foods to promote ready-to-heat meals on-line and in additional 300 supermarkets throughout the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman.
It not too long ago expanded to Jordan by way of a partnership with Amman-based FMCG distributor Medica.
“We’re specializing in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and MENA (Center East and North Africa) areas … establishing model recognition and constructing stable relationships with our distributors,” stated Bushnaq.
He stated the corporate selected to maintain distribution with individuals who greatest knew its operations – firms with the expertise and logistical contacts to succeed in the correct retailers.
“(They) can do a greater job than us doing it immediately. We work collectively and provides them the help to launch our merchandise – that is our technique to enter completely different markets,” he stated.
Delektia is now gearing as much as launch in Kuwait by way of Nourishment LLC, an area wholesome snacks distributor. Increasing internationally can also be on the horizon, particularly to North America and Europe the place there may be demand for ready-to-heat Center Japanese meals.
Halal certification journey
A significant component facilitating Delektia’s regional enlargement was securing a halal meals certification from the Saudi Arabia-based GCC Standardisation Organisation (GSO), the area’s major halal requirements setting physique.
“The halal certification validates our merchandise are manufactured in a clear setting and don’t comprise alcohol or impermissible meats. (Additionally they observe) the method to verify there’s no sharing of kit or storage within the neighborhood of impermissible supplies,” stated Bushnaq, including it was not merely the components, but additionally the cooking strategies.
The corporate’s whole facility and its packaging have to be halal licensed, however the GSO certification is then accepted in a number of international locations and recognised by the UAE’s Emirates Authority for Standards and Metrology (ESMA).
Nevertheless, Delektia requires a distinct halal meals certification from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) to function in that nation. The authority should examine Delektia’s services; a course of the corporate is at the moment finalising.
“Every nation has a distinct method of doing issues, however generally, they settle for (our) GSO certification,” stated Bushnaq.
Ziad Bushnaq, co-founder and managing companion, stated Delektia has adopted a distributor-based, go-to-market technique which means it might attain grocery store cabinets and broaden comparatively swiftly. (Courtesy: Delektia).
Lengthy shelf-life advantages
One other essential side of Delektia’s set-up section was designing optimum packaging that may be reheated in both a microwave or the oven, whereas additionally having a one-year freezer life. Bushnaq stated instantly after cooking and packaging, the product goes right into a blast-freezing system at -18°C.
This fast freezing ensures the lengthy shelf life with out the necessity for preservatives and retains the vitamins and flavours. Against this, a house freezer takes a day to freeze meals to this temperature, throughout which era lots of the vitamins are misplaced.
“Freezing gear has developed within the final decade and beginning to change perceptions that frozen doesn’t essentially imply preservatives. There’s no want to make use of preservatives to get a protracted shelf life due to blast freezing,” he stated.
Globally, the frozen meals market is witnessing quick development. Within the UAE the market was valued at $790.74 million in 2020 with a projected 4.9% compound annual development price from 2021 to 2016, in response to France-based market intelligence platform ReportLinker.
Fuelling the expansion is an rising demand for a year-round provide of ready-made meals given customers’ busy and hectic existence. Bushnaq additionally expects the supply of long-lasting managed meal parts to assist scale back meals waste in properties.
Round 38% of the food prepared daily in Dubai is wasted, in response to analysis by the Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence. Decomposition emits methane gasoline, reportedly 25 occasions extra damaging than CO2.
“We’re bringing to the desk meals with a 12-month shelf life – portion-controlled, handy and wholesome. Portion management is vital as a result of it minimises meals wastage,” Bushnaq concluded.
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