BRF has created a new business unit for the production and distribution of products destined for Muslim markets, as the Brazilian company – the world’s largest exporter of poultry – seeks to gain new ground in the Middle East.
Dubai-based One Foods Holdings will target the halal animal protein market in countries like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, where BRF claimed to already control 45% of the poultry products market.
The countries, BRF said, were all experiencing economic and demographic growth beyond the global average – with a combined population of around 1.8 billion – and subsequently offered an ideal opportunity for it to capture.
The company’s CEO, Pedro Faria, said: “By creating a local company to consolidate our operations in Islamic markets, we have moved further up the production chain to get closer to our consumers, which should support the accelerated growth of OneFoods.”
The subsidiary replaces Sadia Halal, and will subsume a portfolio of products that includes the Sadia brand.
With 15,000 employees, it will become one of the world’s largest companies in its field and source its products from factories in Brazil, the UAE and Malaysia.
“If you ask which is the number one halal food brand in the Middle East, the answer is Sadia,” Faria continued. “This is a fantastic asset that shows how close we are to consumers and just how confident they are in the quality and origin of our products. We’re talking about a relationship of over 40 years, given that the first container of Sadia products arrived in the region in the 1970s.
“The subsidiary’s operations are fully integrated, which gives OneFoods a unique position in terms of production costs compared to its competitors,” said Faria.
Patricio Rohner, BRF general manager in the Middle East and North Africa, who will lead the new business unit, added: “OneFoods already operates in more than 40 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and Asia. Its goal is to accelerate the transition process and forge closer relationships with consumers in all its markets, by replicating the leadership it has attained in the Middle East through its brands, distribution, integrated chain, low costs and high-quality and innovative products.”
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