UAE: Health food stores on the rise

The number of health food stores is growing in the UAE, as consumers are putting their focus on healthier products, GulfNews reports. These stores are located in areas where there are western immigrants that have a higher income, according to information from Euromonitor International.

Organic Foods and Café currently runs five stores in the UAE and one in Bahrain and has just opened a new store in Abu Dhabi. Two stores are planned to open in Kuwait next year, and the company looks to expand to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, and Ras Al Khaimah and Al Ain in the UAE. The organic food supplier Ripe states that they observed an increase in organic café projects over the last year. A steady increase in demand of organics has ben witnesses, with a focus on local organic produce. Prepared organic baby food is the strongest category within organic packaged food, with 40% of prepared baby food in the UAE claimed to be organic.

Currently, supermarkets are leading sales of organic food in the UAE. Even though super- and hypermarkets are increasing their organic offer, the selection is not very broad yet. Therefore, health food stores are expected to fulfill the rising demand. The complete article is available here.