Organic Packaged Food in the United Arab Emirates

PROSPECTS

Organic prepared baby food benefits from demand for clean food for young children

At the end of the review period, organic prepared baby food remained one of the largest categories of organic packaged food. For many years, the category’s key players have been investing heavily in the development of the category via innovation and new product launches, widening the range of products available.

Organic packaged food’s premium image a blessing and a curse

In the United Arab Emirates, all organic products are positioned as premium products, carrying considerably higher prices than standard alternatives in most categories. While this has benefited the category by boosting value sales and value growth, it is also narrow the consumer base somewhat as many people object to paying higher prices for limited perceived benefits.

Demand for other types of HW packaged food shifts towards organic categories

Towards the end of the review period, demand for health and wellness packaged food shifted towards organic categories as consumers who have long held an interest in better nutrition come to understand the inherent benefits of organic products. One illustrative example is pasta, where initial health and wellness trends saw a shift towards better for you products such as whole wheat pasta.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Al Safi Danone Ltd dominate sales via the other category’s two leading brands

Al Safi Danone remained the leading player in organic packaged food at the end of the review period, dominating sales via its ownership of Activia and Actimel, the two leading brands in the category. The company and its much long-standing presence in the country and its wide distribution, which ensures high visibility for Activia and Actimel in the chiller cabinets of supermarkets and hypermarkets throughout the country.

Frozen processed food present strong opportunities for organic players

Although sales of organic frozen meat, seafood, fruit and vegetables remained marginal in the United Arab Emirates at the end of the review period, the category holds strong growth potential and this has not gone unnoticed by many of the leading players in frozen processed food. Among companies seeking to take advantage of the rising interest in organic food is Federal Foods, which has established strong connections between the image for high quality that organic products hold and the convenience that frozen fruit and frozen processed vegetables represent with the Middle East-wide launch of a range of frozen fruit and frozen processed vegetables under its Emborg brand.

Low levels of development present strong growth opportunities

The fact that organic packaged food in the United Arab Emirates remains a highly underdeveloped category means that there remain strong opportunities for new companies and brands to enter the category. In addition, there remain strong opportunities for incumbent players to launch new products.

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