Global Food Industries (GFI) launched “the Middle East region’s first-ever healthy chicken burgers and nuggets” during the Gulfood exhibition, which kicked off on February 18 at the Dubai World Trade Centre and ran through the 22nd. Furthermore, the Healthy Farm brand Chicken Quinoa & Kale Burgers and Super Chicken Quinoa & Kale Nuggets won top prizes in the show’s Best Halal Food and Best Meat or Poultry Innovation competition.
“These awards confirm our commitment to innovation. We are relentless in pursuing opportunities which provide better value and products to our consumers,” said Jacek Plewa, GFI’s general manager. “We are the first UAE company to create superfoods for consumers’ daily use. Our reduced salt products are completely transparent, with no preservatives or fillers and no MSG. Containing 30% more protein, 60% fewer calories and 90% more fiber, they address increasing consumer demand for true health and wellness.”
The frozen offerings, which feature a blend of boneless halal chicken breast, red quinoa, kale and seven other mixed vegetables, contain only one gram of fat per 60 grams of volume.
According to Plewa, these and other affordably priced items to debut later under the Healthy Farm banner will “play a key role in the efforts to further promote healthy living at a time when problems with obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular diseases are of serious concern.”
Unveiling the “better for you” line complements GFI’s continuing efforts to leverage healthy-eating fare across the United Arab Emirates’ US $1.25 billion health and wellness food market.
“Our vision is to have more than 1,000,000 people try Healthy Farm products in a year’s time by reaching out to families, mothers and kids and sharing with them that they now have a healthier meal option without compromising on taste,” said Plewa. “We are originally launching this product in the UAE and the rest of the Middle East, but will soon expand to other markets overseas.”
Social media and advertising campaigns as well as extensive in-store engagement and product trials with live cooking demonstrations are being orchestrated to publicize the products.
GFI is part of the Albatha Group, a Sharjah-headquartered enterprise comprised of over 25 companies with over 7,000 employees spread across seven industrial sectors including healthcare and personal care. It has a strong presence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region through a distribution network that expands from the Gulf to the Indian subcontinent and Europe.
