Lebanon’s chocolatier Patchi, UAE’s Al Rawabi Dairy, and Saudi’s Almarai food conglomerate are the top three ‘most intimate’ consumer brands among UAE consumers, according to a survey by brand insights agency MBLM.
The United Arab Emirates has recorded a significant increase in the amount of land that has gone over to organic farming and the types of organic products that are available this year.
Plant-based meat substitutes, such as seitan, tempeh, and tofu are gaining traction across the UAE, along with other traditional festive food, including dates, grains, pulses, and nuts.
The UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) has teamed up with a coalition formed by NGOs, local and global food firms, including MNCs such as Coca-Cola, Nestle, PepsiCo, P&G, and Unilever in combating local plastic and packaging...
Middle East supermarket mega chain Choithrams has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India’s Future Consumer Limited (FCL) to market popular Indian snacks in the UAE for the first time.
UAE-based food firm Hunter Foods is aiming to push forward its concept of applying hospitality-style thinking to its products and management, to enhance promotion of its better-for-you product messaging.
About 90% of UAE infants have been introduced to complementary foods such as milk formula, juices and staples by the time they are five or six months old, according to a new study.
UAE specialist free-from brand Freakin' Healthy is on a mission to tackle the four major obstacles currently challenging the healthy snacks industry, said its founder and CEO.
Award-winning United Arab Emirates (UAE) food firm Global Food Industries (GFI) says the quality of its innovation, health focus and plant-based options will help drive its expansion outside of the Middle East.
UAE-based importer Truebell is offering at least seven new products to the country this year – including tea from the UK and probiotic beverages from Japan.
The UAE Cabinet has implemented a blanket ban on the advertising of infant formula and other infant nutrition products, including follow-up formula and complementary foods.
Gaya Gold has partnered with Ardagh Group to launch a redesigned ice coffee packaging in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) with plans to take it to other Middle Eastern markets.
UAE-based Organic&Real.com (O&R) may have only just launched, but its boss is already aiming for it to become the biggest online marketplace for certified organic and natural, vegan, gluten-free and free-from healthy food products.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) cabinet has issued new regulations for milk, other dairy and juice and beverage products, and the licensing of manufacturers.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Climate Change and Environment (MOCCAE) is to withdraw frozen vegetables and fruit products made in Europe that have been linked with a listeria outbreak.
The future food security of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region depends on the strengthening of economic ties and trade cooperation between the region’s countries, said the UAE’s Minister of State for Future Food Security.
The UAE’s quest to extend food shelf life has recently received a boost with the Dubai Central Laboratory moving its plans forward with the approval of a new study.
UAE officials are seeking to drive down imports and boost the country’s production of fresh produce by encouraging more landowners to be involved in agricultural production.
A Gulf-wide goods and services tax that will come into effect next year has been one of the main talking points among companies exhibiting at Gulfood Manufacturing this year, with its ripple effect likely to impact business in the food industry.
McDonald’s may have been introducing healthier options to its global menus, but there has been little interest in items beyond burgers and fries in the UAE.
Patchi has begun work on a new 122,000 square-foot chocolate manufacturing facility in Dubai to serve as a “springboard” into regional and overseas markets when it opens in 18 months.
One of the Middle East’s biggest food importers has unveiled the region’s largest production factory. The new Arab & India Spices plant in Ajman was built with an investment of AED350m (US$95m).
Global cooking oil major Mazola is placing its focus on expanding even further into the Middle East’s growing non-retail sector by appointing Farm Fresh as its new distributor for food-service business in the UAE.
Sales of products with ethical labels of some sort reached more than US$2bn in the UAE last year, according to Euromonitor, with recycling and preservatives the main areas of focus.
Polish apple producers shut out of the Russian market are turning to the UAE, but now face challenges from long-held consumer expectations, according to the head of the Polish Fruit Union.
Saudi, UAE and Egyptian shoppers are prepared to switch brands for a bargain even as they increase their food spend during Ramadan—a time when the UAE Ministry of Economy pays US$68m on food subsidies.
Palestinian meat producer Siniora has bought the UAE firm Diamond Meat Processing (DMP) in a deal worth US$17m, in order to expand into the UAE and wider GCC.
The International Centre of Biosaline Agriculture has won this year’s Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation, as the award announces future changes.
There is a growing awareness of the need to reduce children’s intake of sugary foods in the UAE, but parents still need to do more, according to a UAE paediatrician.
Consumers are responsible for their own food choices, and shouldn’t expect food producers to educate them about nutrition, according to a UAE food blogger behind a new campaign.
UAE authorities have warned consumers not to use the slimming aid DNP following a recent death from the drug in the UK, as more than 190 other diet supplements face restrictions.
The UAE’s date palm oases may be formally recognised by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation as of global agricultural importance, the FAO announced this month.
The UAE has opened a new fish hatchery in Umm Al Quwain, planned to produce 10 million fingerlings within three years, as ministers reveal massive declines in coastal fish stocks.
The UAE is planning to introduce a new law restricting levels of salt and fat in packaged food, officials from the country’s Ministry of Health have said.
Italian food exports to the GCC were up 21% in 2013, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia leading the growth and sales, according to figures from Italian food export organisation Cibus.
China and the UAE pushed for an increase in bilateral food and agriculture trade between the two countries during a visit to Abu Dhabi by a high-level Chinese trade delegation last week.
Ethiopia and Somalia are both pushing to increase the level of food and agricultural foreign direct investment from GCC (Gulf Co-operation Council) states.
Malaysia is actively looking at the UAE as a gateway for entering the potentially high value halal markets in North Africa, Middle East and Europe, a top Malaysian government official revealed.
The UAE's plans to promote healthy eating are a good start, but the government and the food industry can both do more to combat obesity and diabetes, according to a Dubai-based dietitian.
Earlier this year, Oman embarked on one of the most ambitious food production projects in the Middle East when it announced plans to invest US$1.29bn in fisheries development from 2013 to 2020.