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Hunter Foods: Go gourmet

Source:Ringier Food Release Date:2015-08-18 1585
Food & Beverage
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ZAINAB MANSOOR interviews Ananya Narayan, managing director of Hunter Foods, a producer of healthy snacks in Dubai

HUNTER Foods, with its long list of healthy snacks, has carved a name for itself in the gourmet sector. Over the years, the company has proven its R&D capability with the introduction of such snacks as Safari Potato Grills, Corn Poppatillas, Hand Cooked Chips, Lentil Poppadums, and Fresh Gourmet Croutons, to name a few. Several others based on the market’s changing tastes are in the pipeline for release in the next 12 months, according to managing director Ananya Narayan.

Based in Dubai, Hunter is also strong in the private label business which is projected to expand in the Middle East. In this interview with FMJE, Mr Narayan talks about growth strategies.

Ananya Narayan, managing director of Hunter Foods

How many product varieties has Hunter Food manufactured since it was established?

We started with Safari Potato Grills which is still one of our highest selling products today. This is what most of the market still knows us for. After this, we added Aladdin snacks, Ali Baba snacks, Real Potato Chips, Poppadums, Poppatilla’s (a blend between Indian Poppadum and Mexican Tortilla), Freezo Ice Lollies, Fried Onions, Handcooked Chips, and now Vegetable Chips. We discontinued some products like Potato Squares and Jasmine Snack, along the way. 

The UAE has changed from being a sleepy town in the 1980’s, and now Dubai is a first world city competing with the likes of New York, London and Paris in its needs. Thus, we have been changing the products that we are now launching and shall be accelerating the variety of products that we shall be introducing now in the market within the next 12 months.  These products fit the direction of the current UAE and the GCC which are matching the trends of the world. 

With these snacks, where does the health aspect come in?

We are very concerned about health. We strive to ensure our products are non-GMO, gluten-free, MSG-free, without artificial flavors or colors, etc.

We have recently launched our superfoods range – with Chia Seeds, Organic Flax Seeds, Organic Wheatgrass Powder and Organic Cocoa Nibs. We are going to launch another healthy snack range later this year.  We also distribute Lizi’s Granola which is a low GI product, good for diabetics and people who want to lose weight; as well as a range of organic cereal cakes and snacks which are again healthier options. 

The superfood snacks

What inspires these product innovations?

We have found the best R&D is to travel and see what is happening all around the world and use that as a starting point to provide the best and the latest to the local market. However, we have added new staff in the team just to focus on new product development especially to constantly review our products to make them healthier. 

How conscious are today’s consumers in terms of what they eat?

The general global trend is to be more conscious of what we put into our mouths.  In our already very busy lives, we all want to live better and eat better. We have seen the trends in people wanting to eat less sodium, no MSG, non-GMO, gluten free, organic, no artificial colors or artificial flavors, etc. We see this as only growing until multinational food manufacturers make it a norm to offer better rather than bad ingredients at lower pricing.  At Hunter, we have been taking the steps now to offer only the best.

Mixed Vegetables Chips are among Hunter’s latest healthy snacks

Hunter prides in being the first specialty gourmet snacks producing company.

If you see most of the products we make are all new to the world or at least to this market and so we have the habit of not following the beaten track, and become recognized as an innovator.  For example, our vegetable chips have taken the market by storm and the sales keep increasing faster than our best estimates. We are still trying to educate the market that we (with Hunter's Gourmet) are still the same company that brought them Safari, Aladdin and Ali Baba. 

The snack food market is quite competitive in the UAE. How does the company maintain its lead?

Hunter Foods has been working hard to separate itself from the rest of the market in terms of truly providing an international quality product and packaging and competing with the European and American brands rather than fighting against the local and regional players.  We do not market any “me too” products. It is harder to build a market for a brand new product than to supply what the market already wants but this way we create new niches and our market share. 

Please tell us about the private label business.

We make the private labels for various retailers, coffee shops, airlines and hotels. We have plans to do a lot of private labels as we believe that this market will only increase in the Middle East.  It is less than 3% now against the US at over 15% and Europe at over 40%.  However, we will ensure we do not lose our identity in the process. 

Hunter Foods has been awarded the Superbrand status for three years. Quite an achievement.

We are constantly looking at ways to raise the level of quality with every year in operation.  It starts with the mindset of every employee in the company.  To achieve this, we have to believe in it and have to live it. It is a never-ending journey as the quality will never be good enough.  It has been a great honor to be awarded Superbrand for three years in a row and we see this as a testament from the consumers that they recognize and like what we are doing. 

What are your goals for 2015-16?

Overall, we have very aggressive goals for growth in 2015 of 50% and in 2016 of 60% on top of that.  We are also striving to build partnerships with various retailers and partners from around the world to achieve this. However, what is most important is that we build the dream team with similar visions and philosophies to make this journey more fun and fulfilling. 

For chips, Hunter sources potatoes from suppliers in Europe

What are your plans for geographical expansion?

We already sell to the US, UK, Singapore, New Zealand, etc.  Our immediate concentration is still within the region for the next 12 months as this is where we see the most growth potential.  However, we plan to look at Asia and Africa over the next two years as these are still the growing markets for our product range. 

Where does the company source its raw materials?

Most of our raw materials are sourced from Europe including the potatoes and the flavors.  We believe that it is critical to have the best quality of the ingredients to make the best quality of the finished product.  Having said that, we are starting to see countries like India, China, Thailand and Malaysia are catching up quickly to the levels in quality of Europe and are keeping a close eye on them for their raw materials in the future.

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