Top Iran firm set to enter Qatar market
Iran’s biggest confectionery company, which is also one of the biggest in the Middle East, is planning to enter Qatar’s retail market. Shirin Asal Food Industrial Group, that has a turnover of around $5bn per annum, is planning to set up a factory in Qatar.
The company, which produces more than 1,000 products, conducted a four-month long market study in Qatar and got encouraging feedback.
“We have already done a market study in Qatar and fortunately there is demand for Iranian products. People in Qatar are willing to buy products which are produced in Iran,” Hossein Mahfouzi, Middle East Export Executive, Shirin Asal Food Industrial Group, told The Peninsula.
“Our future plan is to have a small factory for Qatar market as soon as we get the right feedback (about which product has more demand) from the market,” he said.
The market study was conducted to gauge the consumer preference and to know which of their product will have more demand in Qatar.
“We have done market study but we are not sure about the demand in each category of products. As soon as we distribute the products in the market, we will have a right indication of which product is moving better than others. And, in that time we will plan to have a production facility for that specific product that will be produced in Qatar,” he said.
Shirin Asal, which is exporting its products to 75 countries, is the only fully integrated Iranian confectionery group that produces and markets high-quality cocoa, chocolates and confectionery products selling and distributing to consumers.
“We hope that we will expand in Qatar. We know that the market has its own capability and capacity to distribute products and hopefully we are going to find some companies to deal with in Qatar,” he said.
The company is looking for tie-ups with companies in Qatar for product distribution. It is planning to distribute products by within this week and its products are expected to hit shelves of some hypermarkets in the first week of November.
“The products which will be distributed will mainly cake-lines and confectionary items. In November, we hope to have our products in chains in Lulu and Al Meera,” he said.
The products coming out of company’s production unit is likely to be cheaper compared to the products imported from outside of the country. “Cost of products from the production facility will be cheaper. The product will be naturally cheaper as it will be made in Qatar,” he said.
Source: The Peninsula Qatar