The business of sweets in Dubai

Gulf News

The business of sweets in Dubai. Dubai's confectionery market has grown exponentially in recent years and despite the economic slowdown, is becoming big business. See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv

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00:00These might be small customers, but sweets are big business in Dubai.

00:17Shops like this one in Dubai Mall are popping up around the emirate, and with an annual

00:21growth of 10 percent, the 300 million dirham confectionary market is on the rise.

00:26In fact, sweets make up the largest chunk of the UAE food product export, because companies

00:31are producing more here than ever before.

00:34And despite empty-looking malls, it appears to be a market that is weathering the global

00:39economic slowdown.

00:40The confectionery, chocolate, candy business typically is recession-proof.

00:41Does it take a hit?

00:42Yes, premium brands do take a hit.

00:43However, chocolate is more of an affordable, feel-good item.

00:45Confectioners like Pachi, which is a production facility in Al-Qoz, are leading the way in

01:02local production.

01:03The Lebanese company has an international reach and says Dubai has become a viable market

01:08for them.

01:09There's a lot of chocolate shops opening, new ideas coming.

01:17It is a big market, and we are everywhere.

01:22It's not only in the UAE.

01:23It's a multinational company, so you can find us everywhere.

01:29We have franchise, Paris, Europe, everywhere.

01:34With the growth of the confectionery market comes, of course, a rise in consumption, and

01:38there is concern amongst health experts here in Dubai, where over a million people suffer

01:43from diabetes, many of them children.

01:46Because these foods are so loaded with energy and no nutrients that they're going to still

01:50put on weight, but this weight is going to start becoming excessive, leading to overweight

01:54and obesity.

01:56And we know that obesity is linked to lots of chronic conditions such as diabetes and

02:00heart disease.

02:01So later on, and these days it's actually not that late on, we're seeing children ending

02:06up with type 2 diabetes as young as 12 or 10 years of age.

02:10But for the near future, at least, the sweets business is set to grow exponentially.

02:15And with products that appear to be recession-proof, expect to see more and more sweets on the

02:20supermarket shelves.

02:21Ashraf Helmi, Gulf News.

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