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LEADIN: Buoyed by their success in the UAE, Middle East-themed food companies are now looking overseas to do business too. "Just Falafel" has already sold hundreds of franchises worldwide - and now others are following suit. STORYLINE: Cooking up a traditional Lebanese treat. This is Mana'eesh - a flat bread which is normally eaten for breakfast and offered with different toppings, such as meat or cheese. It's being cooked at "Man'oushe Street" - a Lebanese food brand which has been set up here in the UAE. The company is said to be going from strength to strength and is now planning to take its menu overseas. "We've decided to start an initiative of a local food from Beirut, especially that is linked to heritage, especially that Mana'oushe is something very old and is very traditional and is liked to the memory of every child," explains Jihad El Eit, Man'oushe Street's founder and CEO. His company opened in Dubai in 2009 - and now boasts five locations in the UAE. A further two restaurants are expected to open this year. Jihad says Dubai was an obvious place to set up the business. "Dubai is a city that is, that pushes you to be perfect in every single step of the process, municipality, civil defence, everything you name it - it will push you to be perfect and this is what you need to really deliver what you are seeing around you. The city regulation helps any company to deliver at a high bar," he says. Lebanese visitors have been important in getting the company off the ground, but opening in Dubai has given the company exposure to international markets - because of the number of ex-pats and tourists living, working and visiting the UAE. He says that as much as 40 percent of their patrons are not Arabs. "Secondly, Dubai with the tourism that you have here, a lot of people might try to eat something they haven't tried it before," he explains. Man'oushe Street has signed a contractual agreement with Wadi Degla Holding Company and is opening up at four locations in Egypt later this year. But their ambitions reach far beyond the region; they're aiming for worldwide success. To that end, they have 35 franchises opening in Europe in the next few years, targeting the Benelux region - France, Belgium and the Netherlands specifically. Man'oushe Street has been successful in Dubai alongside other food and drink companies, which are bringing overseas cuisine to Dubai. From Asian restaurants to French patisseries and global coffee chains, there's plenty on offer for customers. "Just Falafel" is another of the companies enjoying success here - and much further afield. Starting in Abu Dhabi in 2007, it had the simple idea of "elevating" the falafel - once considered to be street food for the poor in Egypt. The company has done this by adjusting their menus to offer unique variations on the falafel wrap, whether Greek, Mexican or Emirati. It's turned out to be a very profitable idea. In just seven years, Just Falafel has sold hundreds of franchises worldwide from the US to the UK. Recently they signed a development deal for 903 more. Fadi Malas, Just Falafel's CEO, says their expansion has been driven by demand for the humble falafel. "I mean even though the company is only seven years old, the food category is one of the eldest of our times, for one thing. And also, the other reason why we're moving out to the rest of the world is because we are getting the demand for it," he says. "And you know it's quite overwhelming when you get demand for rolling out stores in one country and it's difficult to say no sometimes." Just Falafel has just broken the US market, opening their first chain in the San Francisco area. They've plans to open another 160 restaurants in North America in the next five years. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/b7739ea5fd2be7a8456fe5e1b176dedd Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork