UAE-headquartered United Kaipara Dairies (Unikai) will have Qatar Foods & Services distributing its products in the country following an MoU the two parties signed recently.

Qatar Foods & Services, a subdivision of Quality Group International, is a major supplier of consumer products to wholesalers, retailers, hypermarkets and supermarkets in Qatar. Signing the deal were Unikai chairman Mana Mohammed Saeed Al Mulla and the chairman of Qatar Foods & Services, Shamsudeen Olakara.

The Qatar distributor was selected within the context of an aggressive campaign conducted by Unikai to make its products available in Gulf and international markets.

“Qatar Foods & Services shares our standards for delivering high-quality fresh products,” said Al Mulla.

“It is our pleasure to expand our presence into the rapidly increasing Qatari market through a strategic agreement with an experienced partner such as Qatar Foods & Services. The food market is a vital sector that is immune to global uncertainties, and this was reflected in the outstanding performance of Unikai. Our expansion plans across the GCC are going full swing.”

Unikai reported a net profit of Dh13.5 million ($3.67 million) for 2015. Al Mulla said earlier this year the company would expand its operations after accomplishing “remarkable competitiveness” in areas such as quality, packaging, distribution, customer service, corporate governance, risk mitigation, talent acquisition and local capacities. Unikai’s key focus for the current year is to improve distribution channels, expand the geographical reach and further boost quality measures and brand exposure.

Its operations expanded dramatically in 2015, covering nearly 200 routes across the UAE and Oman on a daily basis.

The GCC food services market is predicted to grow at compound annual growth rate of 6.8 per cent to reach $24.5 billion in 2018, according to Al Masah Capital. “We have studied the Qatari market closely, because of its vitality and competitiveness. We are extremely confident about this move, and hope to create a loyal client base across Qatar,” said Al Mulla.

Neeraj Vohra, Unikai chief executive, said the company is present in some 29 countries across the GCC, Middle East and North Africa and was working towards developing sustainable business through understanding market needs and developing tailor-made products. 

The company makes a range of dairy, ice cream, juice and food products.

Commenting on the deal, chairman Olakara of Qatar Foods & Services said: “We will leverage on our long business experience which includes deals with prestigious companies to ensure continuous flow of Unikai products to Qatar. We have also identified the large storage requirements of this particular nature of business and therefore we are establishing a long-term partnership with the company.” 

Quality Group International, of which Qatar Foods & Services is a subdivision, has diversified business interests in hypermarkets, shopping malls, department stores, healthcare, import and distribution, food & beverages supply, engineering, hydraulics, transportation and car rentals. The list extends to technical trading, printing and media advertising and management consultancy. Quality Group with 24 companies in diverse activities has a presence across the GCC and Asian countries.