Considered one of the fastest growing and largest companies in the UAE, Ghitha, a part of International Holding Company, has a portfolio of more than 55 subsidiaries, associates and joint ventures.
One of the largest vertically integrated food manufacturing and distribution companies in the UAE, the business’ brands operate within six business segments including dairy, poultry, protein, fresh fruits and vegetables, oils, grains as well as manufacturing, trading and distribution, and agriculture and investments.
Striving to support the UAE’s mission to diversify the non-oil economy alongside its Food Security Strategy, Ghitha has been heralded as the foremost contributor to the UAE’s national food security via the supply of food across different verticals.
At this year’s Gulfood, the holding company presented six of its most prominent food and distributing companies: Al Ain Farms; Al Ajban Poultry; Asmak; NRTC; ADVOC; and Royal Horizon.
The largest integrated dairy and poultry company in UAE, Al Ain Farms offers the highest quality products in fresh and long life dairy, poultry, juice, and camel milk products.
Further to Al Ain Farm’s Poultry offering, Al Ajban Poultry brings to market the highest quality poultry products in UAE, as well as hatching eggs and day-old chicks.
Representing Ghitha’s seafood outputs, Asmak is the largest producer of fresh and frozen fish in the UAE, utilising state-of-the-art processing and freezing technologies. The business has been endorsed with top reputable certifications.
Considering fruit and vegetables, NRTC is one of the Middle East’s leading importer and exporters of fresh fruit and vegetables. It has more than 50 years of experience serving the HoReCa and wholesale markets, and boasts a network of more than 100 exclusive trading partners and suppliers across the globe.
ADVOC is one of the three fractionation plants in the GCC to make specialty fats and is the only highest-quality edible oil refinery in Abu Dhabi.
Finally, Royal Horizon is a group of companies established in the UAE which specializes in fast moving consumer goods and retail sectors, best known for distributing dry food products and rice grain.
Led by an Organizational Architect
“Ghitha actively pursues various opportunities to consistently enhance shareholders’ value, year after year,” shared CEO, Falal Almeen, “Our journey of substantial growth has been further reinforced by our core values”
The business core values consist of:
- Achieving portfolio growth;
- Improving performance through diversified investments;
- Elevating value by creating new business ecosystems;
- Sustaining returns by investing across global sectors.
Leading the business in meeting its objectives as well as supporting the UAE in its Food Security Strategy, Falal has more than 20 years of experience in driving business excellence, achieving continuous improvement in business performance, and accelerating growth by translating business concepts into tangible results.
Using entrepreneurial approaches to guide companies through change and difficulty towards profitable growth, Falal believes that leadership has to provide the supervision necessary to achieve excellent outcomes and meet business objectives, while promoting innovation, creating customer value, enhancing organizational capabilities and developing team leadership skills.
“As an organizational architect, this ethos has helped to establish the direction for companies to ensure the financial, operational, and reputational well-being of the organization,” he said.
Driving Transformation
Whilst Ghitha’s operational success supports the government through its Food Security Strategy at a wider level, the business is focussed on creating opportunities and enhancing the wellbeing of communities and individuals, too.
“Business – driven investments are at the heart of positively influencing the world,” said Falal.
Internally, Ghitha’ s management philosophy places a firm belief in its people, who are not only motivated but also operate with the perspective of being shareholders.
“This virtuous cycle of continuous business growth fosters the development of Ghitha’ s human capital and has cultivated an environment that sustains the group’s ongoing success,” added Galal.
Ghitha prides itself on fostering a positive culture of equal opportunities for all employees. It also continuously invests into the local Emirati talent via a range of social responsibility programs.
One such initiative has seen Ghitha partner with the UAE National Service and Reserve Authority and ADAFSA for the last seven years. The program trains 25 UAE National Service cadets within the business each year. The Group is also implementing the Athar Program of Emirati Development, which supports an18 month training course within the company.
“When trainees have completed the course, they leave fully equipped for industry specific jobs,” shared Falal.
In addition to community advancement, the business is committed to fostering innovation, sustainability, and economic prosperity across its operational markets.
“In alignment with Abu Dhabi’s Economic Vision 2030 and the UAE’s Next 50 development strategies, we actively engage with various businesses, with a strong emphasis on preparing for the future, fostering creativity, bolstering resilience, and driving the transformation of the food sector via sustainable practices and ethical farming,” Falal explained.
Ghitha follows ethical and sustainable practices across its portfolio, including animal welfare, reduction of its carbon footprint by recycling water and expanding its R&D capabilities by offering local health innovation.
A Number of Milestone Achievements
Falal believes the outlook for the food sector in the UAE is strong, with growth expected to be driven by the increase in population, high level of tourist attractiveness and HoReCa segment growth, as well as the increase in per capita income of the population.
“This is all supported by the overall investments coming from the synergies of the government with local companies to further develop the local industry and enable unbeatable food security for the nation,” shared Falal.
Meanwhile, changing population dynamics and consumer needs are seeing health factors contribute to more categories being sub-segmented to offer value added products.
“With this in mind, we can see growth primarily in the premium food and drinks segment,” Falal said.