Dubai – The already traditional tasting of poultry shawarma from Brazil during Gulfood, the largest food show in the Middle East, gained a new flavor this year. Typical to Arab countries, the dish is now also being offered with duck meat. The Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA) promotes the initiative at its booth at the event, in the Beef and Poultry pavilion.
The tasting is endorsed by the sectoral project focused on duck meat, Brazilian Duck, launched less than a year ago. “We have been offering the tasting of shawarma with chicken for several years, and our partner company, Villa Germania, had the idea of participating with the duck as well. It has been a success; everyone wants to taste it,” said ABPA’s Marketing and Commercial Promotion manager, Isis Sardella.
According to the manager, the average is 1,500 snacks served per day. Around 400 of them are made from duck meat sent by Villa Germania, the first company to join Brazilian Duck.
Gulf market leader
Already a sales leader in duck meat for the Gulf region, founded in 1996. From Indaial, in the state of Santa Catarina, Villa Germania is the largest duck meat production and export unit in Latin America. But company executives strive for more. “We want to expand. Today, we export the whole duck, and it is still very elementary and basic. We want to start with shawarma and the cuts,” explained Marcondes Moser, vice president of Operations at the brand.
The idea of innovating during Gulfood is also to take advantage of the visits of traditional poultry buyers to introduce duck meat to those who still do not know it and, thus, expand the market. “We want to increase sales in the Middle East region by 40%,” said Moser.
According to Moser, the company has practically 100% of the duck meat market in Saudi Arabia, with around 1,300 tonnes exported per year and between 80% and 90% of consumption in the UAE. “It was in the halal market we found an exciting alternative because almost no duck was sold here. We were pioneers here,” recalls the executive about the beginning in the region. Today, the company also distributes its brands in countries like Qatar, Oman, and other countries.
For Luis Rua, ABPA’s Director of Markets, Gulfood is an opportunity for Brazilian brands, now including the duck meat sector, to seek added value and position their brands in the Middle East. “From the market point of view, [in this edition of the show] we can see the upturn happening. A good situation of customers’ shopping needs,” said Rua.
Quick facts:
Gulfood 2022
February 13 to 17, 2022
WTC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
More info: gulfood.com
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
