São Paulo – Mazarieuna snack brand, traditional from the Levant region, is one of the flagships of Great Food. The company is exhibiting for the first time at the APAS Show, the biggest food and beverages event in Latin America, which is taking place this week in the capital of São Paulo.
The premium appetizer is shaped like a small loaf of bread. The delicacy is a household name to Syrian families, where its history began. “Each of these [snacks] is handmade. It’s a century-old family business,” said the company’s founder & CEO, Abdulhad Al Maaliki.
The company was established on Syrian soil but is now based in Iraq, in the city of Erbil, about 350 kilometers away from the capital, Baghdad. And from there, it exports different items to the Middle East and Noth Africa (MENA) region, such as Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar, reaching European countries like Germany and the Netherlands.
All company snacks are baked. “It is very natural and healthy. Our focus is on upper-class consumers since it is a premium product,” emphasized Maaliki.
Another brand the Iraqi company brought to the exhibition is Eveny. Despite having the shape of noodles, the snacks are made from potatoes and not fried in the process. Family-sized, the line’s design has a youthful feel. “These snacks are made for sharing, and we picture families as consumers on the packaging,” said the CEO. The company also produces other items, such as noodles.
First, the market, then the plant
Maaliki identified potential in the local market on his first visit to Brazil. “When I came for the first time, on a leisure trip, I saw no products like that on the market. So, I realized there was a great opportunity and decided to open a plant. Before that, I wanted to enter the Brazilian market with the products and then be able to establish a factory here,” he detailed to ANBA.
Back in the South American country, this time to exhibit at the show, the businessman will extend his visit for at least a month. “I am planning to visit supermarkets every day. In the ones I went to and showed the products, people saw the quality and the design and regarded them as very interesting. To build a plant, a lot of studies are needed. So I’ll be here for a month to better understand what I can do,” concluded the CEO, who intends to go beyond São Paulo and visit potential partners in Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba.
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
