São Paulo – The family of date-based products by Date Crown, a brand belonging to the United Arab Emirates-based Al Foah, is growing. Al Foah is a subsidiary of Arab food group Agthia. This week the company is launching three new products at Naturaltech, a trade show that specializes in healthy and natural products. But the growth is expected to go further, said Agthia Group Snacking & Government Relations president Mubarak Al Mansoori (pictured above).
For the first time in Brazil, Mansoori is optimistic about the local market. “Brazil is a strategic market for us from a growth perspective. We started in the market five years ago, and we’ve seen potential and demand for Agthia Group’s products since. So this is our thinking now. Our participation in the exhibition is very important for getting in touch with customers and also to get feedback from them,” Mansoori told ANBA.
The size of the Brazilian market is one of the reasons for this investment in exports. The group operates in more than 45 countries around the world. On Brazilian soil, the president points out that the good growth has been tied to a shift in demand. “We’ve felt a shift in the consumers towards sustainability, towards a different thinking. We got great insights from the Brazilian market. And on top of that, we’ve felt that Brazil is a hub to grow across the Americas. And we feel that we can do a lot more from now on,” he said.
The president talked about the possibility of using Brazil as an example for understanding the trends in Latin America and exporting to neighboring countries. “So this is where we are thinking as a strategic location for a future hub,” he said.
The group works on different fronts and products and believes Date Crown is just the beginning of the work it wants to develop in Brazil. “So we started with a date business, and we saw it as an opportunity. Then we’re thinking about how we can push beyond Date Crown. Dates are doing very well, and we’re focusing on them now, as they’re available in a number of the main retails, such as Sam’s Club and Carrefour. But we feel that there is a demand going forward,” the executive announced.
More dates in Brazil
The brand is launching the Chocodates, which are small packages of dates covered in dark or milk chocolate; smaller packages to serve as snacks; and a new variety of dates, the Ajwa.
The official representative of Date Crown in Brazil, Julia de Biase, is accompanying the delegation from the UAE, which features other executives of the group like commercial director Bassel Oueini and CEO Rafael Gonçalves, who’s Brazilian.
“I’m excited because it’s a major achievement that they see the potential of my country. Showing that Brazil has a huge potential for anyone who wants to come and do some serious work, and drawing their attention to Brazil was a tremendously hard work. I started by bringing just a container of dates, and last year a brought in 11 containers of dates. For me, this is more than I could have expected,” said the businesswoman.
Biase celebrates how the brand’s dates have break into the country, just like other products by the brand via partnerships with Brazilian brands like Ofner. “Many companies use our ingredients for their finished products. So this is a great growth for me,” she said.
She believes, however, that her journey as the representative of Date Crown is just beginning. “Now we’re catching their attention. And that’s the global trend, for us to take better care of both our body and our health. I’ve always believed that dates could really become a success story from the Arab world to Brazil,” she finished.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
