Business Desk
Daijiworld News Network - Dubai
Dubai, Jun 24: UAE is a land of challenges and opportunities. The tougher have survived by defying the conditions of recession and there by grown into tougher and better. Among the midst of such enduring competition Freshly Frozen Foods is one such group that’s living every inch of its mission. The group's mission is to provide products and services of international standards through pioneering innovations; its vision is to empower itself with excellence and thus grow and reach the pinnacle of market leadership.
The highly acclaimed Freshly Frozen Foods, abbreviated and ubiquitously known as FFF is a pioneer operating group within the Al Nekhrah Group of companies which was established over 20 years ago in Dubai. The company has been synonymous with quality and affordability since then.
Densil Quadros - GM , Freshly Frozen Food
UAE is a place of diverse culture, and catering to such varied and assorted tastes on its own becomes a test of contest for a capable food supplier. Freshly Frozen Food’s general manager Densil Quadros, a professional in hotel management and a trained chef from his alma mater who has handled food in every form from last 23 years, elaborates, “UAE is a Pot Pori of over 175 different nationalities. Diversity and relative size of the foreign workforce in the UAE is one of the key defining characteristics of the country. Designing a product and catering to all segments of the market is very challenging. We believe in making products what we can sell rather than selling what we can make. We identify the market segment and design the product to suit the market segment.”
It’s not easy for a frozen food supplier with heavy competition and limited space availability in super markets it really needs fresh ideas to trounce the competition. He says, “You just have to make healthier choices like picking up a lean cuisine meal or healthy choice food. Yes there are some frozen foods that pack in a lot of calories, saturated fats and preservatives; you got to make a smart choice.”
75 percent of Freshly products are sold to the local market under the brands of Freshly Foods, Senora, Al Mashrabia, Al Marwa etc. Their largest selling products are, Tender Chicken Breast, Tempura Shrimps, Chicken Nuggets, Cheese Nuggets and Fish N Chips. Typical of all old economy businesses, they had our fair share of the down turn during recession. However, they believe that they are still in a challenging environment and there has been improvement from the last quarter of 2009.
Despite inflation and the bad state of the affairs of the world’s economy, the cost of food is relatively inexpensive in Dubai. In fact, food is a wonderful experience in Dubai. Not only it is affordable, but because of Dubai’s international population, a wide variety of authentic dishes from all over the globe can be found – everything from Indian Biryani to Italian Pasta. At the same time, expatriates can often find many of their favorite dishes from their home countries at their nearby restaurants. Consumers are constantly on the lookout for novel, value and quality food stuff. Food is become like a fashion industry. You need to keep abreast with the trends in food industry.
Freshly Frozen Food brands are very popular in UAE. We checked with Densil Quadros the reasons for the popularity of any food brand. Densil Quadros’s sense of market judgment is very simple and time proven. He believes in easy availability, convenience and value for money. Further he shed light on following with his terrific lines of reasoning.
The popularity of the brand lies on four pillars:
Product - The business has to produce the product that people want to buy. The product should differentiate and meet the market segment which is aimed at.
Price - The price should be high enough to cover cost and low enough to attract consumer.
Customer Awareness - Any form of advertisements or consumer promo is very important.
Right Location - Location plays roles a very important role in this business. retail outlet should be conveniently located within easy reach of the customer.
Freshly has detected a huge gap and need for healthier options in processed meat and poultry segments. Lean meat burgers, fat-free nuggets, cholesterol-free sausages, low calorie, lean and diabetic friendly products are which their R and D team is currently working on. By Q2 of 2013, they plan to introduce these lines in the frozen segments.
Freshly’s strength always has been their Frozen food products. However now they have extended their force into restaurant business. What made them to divert and there by creating eating place under the flag of Bay Leaf? Densil Quadros putd it in plain words. “As a food processor, we cater to some of the top multinational restaurants in the region, QSR and FDR. In the restaurant business, consistency plays a very important role, especially when the number of restaurants is to be scaled up. To ensure same product is sold in all the restaurants, it is important that the products are designed and produced in at the central location. As a large importer, we can control the supply and ensure farm to fork concepts. We are one of the largest sea food processors in this region and we have good control on the quality of raw material. To extend our supply food chain, we moved into the restaurant business.”
Bay Leaf’s first restaurant was launched in Karama Dubai (Oud Metha opposite Lamcy Plaza) in late 2009 and thereafter a second restaurant in Al Qusais (Dubai Residential Oasis Building). UAE has large population from Coastal India and India has got over 5000 Kms of Coastline and the food varies from Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. So there were lots of choices to be offered to the consumers in UAE and hence Freshly decided to choose Coastal Cuisine as their business. By 2013, they have a plan to open two restaurants in Abu Dhabi and one in Sharjah. They also intend to get Spices, Condiments, Pulses; Spice blends and Pickles (all pertaining to coastal food) on to the retail Supermarket Shelves or UAE.
On the intricacies of the initial phase of the restaurant operation, Densil Quadros points out, “The easy part of the restaurant was the food supply chain. The difficult part was the HR related. To source staff for coastal Indian food was quite challenging. The typical Mughalai or North Indian cooks are available in plenty but regional specific staffing was quite challenging restaurant business can be very creative if the market is willing to look at new concepts. This is one of the reasons why fusion cooking- restaurants is mushrooming across the place. The most important aspect in the restaurant business is food should be good and consistent. I learned during my college days that there are only two theories in a restaurant business -
1. The food should be good and sold at any price.
2. The food should be good and sold at economical price, there is nothing in between.”
Bay Leaf stands apart largely due to its cuisine. They have tried to bring the best of huge Indian Coastline from the western coast of Maharashtra, southwards to Goa, Karnataka, right up to Bengal on the east. Bay Leaf believes that restaurant business could be a window for community service. A small portion of the billing could go towards some Research or Cancer foundation. There could be various ways to look at this subject. As CSR, Bay Leaf sponsor food in various labour camps during the holy month of Ramadan. The most important challenge of a Restaurant owner is to attract and retain the right people who would ensure consistent good quality of food.
Bay Leaf is aware of restauranteering is not a typical business; it would take a handful of culinary skills, entrepreneur skills, a pinch of luck and lots of passion. Densil Quadros says, “Restaurant business is simple that people make it complicated. Formula for success is quality food, good service and great people.”
Freshly and Bay Leaf have their plans in place for and beyond 2012. Densil Quadros discloses, “We strive to extend beyond our customers’ expectations and fully meet their requirements. We try to provide our customers and retailers with a professional, courteous and helpful service. In order to ensure sustained successful sales for retailers we provide a timely delivery of products which customers can trust for quality and taste. So enjoy good food, live to eat and ensure to work it out to stay fit.”
Know more about Freshly:
Contact:
Freshly Frozen Foods
P.O. Box 38404,
Dubai - U.A.E
Tel: +971 4 8802727
Fax: +971 4 8802772
E-mail : sales@fffdubai.com
Website : www.fffdubai.com/