Gourmet Gulf's Sami Daud is passionate about providing quality to his customers through his outlets.
The last six months have been good to Gourmet Gulf CEO Sami Daud. In December 2013, he ranked 20th in the Caterer Middle East Power 50 list. One of the reasons for this was that in August 2013, Daud Arabian (the holding company of Gourmet Gulf) and Majid Al Futtaim (MAF) Ventures announced a joint venture agreement covering their mutual investments in Gourmet Gulf Company.
The partnership marked the first entry into the Middle East F&B market for MAF Ventures. When the move was announced, Daud said the partnership enabled Gourmet Gulf to scale its operations and propel its rate of expansion in a “dynamic, but considered manner”. And then of course, Daud also has his own 2020 vision — his objective is to have more than 100 outlets in operation within the next six years.
When I interview him post-announcement, Daud exudes quiet confidence about his future plans. He says: “The CEO of MAF and I have been talking for years. It took us quite a while — probably with both sides — but certainly on our side we wanted to be sure. It’s a marriage at the end of the day; you need to make sure that you are choosing the right partner.”
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Expanding the empire
Daud explains that for Gourmet Gulf, the benefit is MAF’s vast real estate portfolio. He says: “In all the cities, their malls are either number one or number two.” Daud says that while the partnership makes life easier for the F&B firm to a degree, there is no guarantee of anything. “But with our current brands and with new brands coming on board, I think it’s a very strong strategic fit.”
He says the deal adds to Gourmet Gulf’s attractive franchisee package for international brands looking to move the region. “If you think of it as a total package ... now Gourmet Gulf is not only, if I might say so myself, a great operator, but also has access to real estate. For any of the new franchises we are looking at, obviously this is the big selling point for us,” explains Daud.
Gourmet Gulf currently holds the exclusive development and franchise rights in a number of Middle East markets for international brands such as California Pizza Kitchen, Morelli’s Gelato, Yo! Sushi, and Hummingbird Bakery.
However, Daud sees no reason to stop there. He hints at the announcement of a few more brands in the near future, and says the firm is busy finalising agreements.
Keeping it casual
The brands that Gourmet Gulf holds in its portfolio all stay in the ‘casual dining’ range and Daud says this will continue into the future.
He says: “At the end of the day it served very well for us, and so we are continuing down that casual dining family path, but there may be different areas or iterations of it.”
In a region famous for its bling — some cities more so than others — Daud has stayed off the oft-trodden fine dining path and invested in well-known family franchises that veer dangerously close to being labelled ‘fast food’. Did he always plan to invest in casual dining brands?
Daud is candid: “If I have to be honest, no. I think it started off more opportunistically and we just found this is what we do very well; it’s got a great market for it.” He explains that the price point his franchises operate in appeals to a very big segment of the market.
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