Co-op Islami, a producer of Halal meat products in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Gulf, will launch its range of products in the UK market for the first time in mid-September, the first step in a strategic plan to target 18 million Muslim customers in Europe.
Managing Director of Co-Op Islami, said that they selected London as the company's first European distribution center because of the city's economic importance as a hub for business and finance. He said that UK had a Muslim community of three and half million people and its ethnic composition was similar to that of the UAE. Asian Muslims accounted for 80 percent of the Muslim community in Britain while the rest were Muslims of Arab origin and from other regions of the world, as well as British Muslims.
Assistant General Manager of Operations at Co-op Islami Saleh Abdullah Lootah, said that Co-Op Islami expected to take five percent of the market share in the meat production sector in the UK just by launching its operations in London. He said that studies undertaken by the company showed that its market share would reach very high proportions during their current five-year marketing plan.
Co-Op Islami plans to expand its European operations within a short time and will set up a production unit in London to help meet the requirements of the markets, he added. In the first stage Co-Op Islami will launch frozen chicken and chicken parts and also export directly to their distribution center in London from their supplier in Brazil. Co-Op Islami has also reached an agreement with a leading British company that specializes in marketing Halal products.
He said that the expansion program will also cover North American and Asian markets, especially countries in the Indian sub-continent, Indonesia and Malaysia, which have large Muslim populations. Co-Op Islami will also launch operations in East Europe and the Muslim countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, particularly in the Central Asian region, which has a large concentration of Muslims.
Lootah said that Co-Op Islami had done a study to understand the nature of the market in the UK and was about to complete market research in the other international markets prior to launching operations there.
Co-op Islami was set up by Dubai Cooperative Society in 1981 to provide halal meat products as per Islamic methods. Starting with frozen chicken, Co-op Islami expanded to provide burgers, sausages, kebabs and minced meat. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
