Uniting Two Nations

What brings together the expats and citizens in the UAE? It’s the name Al Adil

A household name for Indian spices, condiments and food products in the UAE, Al Adil Trading Company’s remarkable journey continues for over 36 years. With a new generation entering the family business, Dr. Dhananjay (Jay) Datar, the Chairman and Managing Director of Al Adil Trading, says that the business can now see a new wave of offerings for its clientele. Expanding its reach via e-commerce, the brand plans to introduce more products from the south of India to its already comprehensive range of 9,500 products, as well as expand to more areas in the GCC region.

Talking about the e-commerce business, Dr. Datar explains: “We are also seeing an increase in e-commerce sector.Having partnered with several delivery partners such as talabat, instashop, Careem, etc, we are seeing a huge popularity and a heavy footfall in stores as well.” Popular for its affordable pricing that ensures competitiveness as well as quality, Dr. Datar says: “Thanks to our in-house packaging, and the direct buying from farmers in India from different parts of India with no middlemen, we are able to maintain our low prices. Our export company in Mumbai has been supporting us with this. We buy it directly from a certified body. Therefore, we are able to have one of the largest collection of organic foods, with the most affordable prices.”

Besides JVC, Al Adil stores were also launched in the Greens, Jumeriah Lake Tower, Discovery Garden, Al Barsha, besides one in Abu Dhabi. Under the Peacock brand, the store offers a range of products from lentils to spices, millets, condiments to grains, noodles, biscuits, oils, pickles, and a range of other food items. Additionally, the store is also popular during Indian festivals as a hub that offers materials required by each community, such as items that were traditionally bought directly from India by expats.

As the Expo 2020 Dubai continues to gather momentum and attract more tourists, Dr. Datar said that the market is now healthy with the launch of Expo 2020 Dubai. “The Expo 2020 Dubai has gathered great momentum and we believe this is a good time to expand.”

With a continuous expansion every year, Dr. Datar explains why it is important. “Indians love their food. It doesn’t matter what country we are in. We always look for the ‘taste of India’. This is what we specialised — bringing to the UAE more than 9,500 items of food stuff from India.” He added that the brand is planning to bring more food items from South India — Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra. These will include pickles, papadoms, spices, etc. as more and more Tamilians are moving to the UAE, the demand is getting bigger. Observing a growing demand from this Indian region, Al Adil has also been adding more staff members from these states, especially since the last seven years.

Besides retail, Al Adil is witnessing a jump in its wholesale and catering businesses. For the past 34 years, the company has been supplying to Dubai Duty Free, 5-star hotels and restaurants. “As the time is ripe, now is a good time to grow the catering business,” he says.

The ingenious entrepreneur is also a serial philanthropist. In the last two years since the Covid-19 pandemic struck the world, Dr. Datar has been committed to help those in need. One such instance is him sending 150 boxes of Alphonso mangoes to healthcare volunteers in Pune on Maharashtra Day last year. Besides, he also assisted those in need financially.

Another novel initiative that he kickstarted in 2021 was ‘Rickshaw Ambulance’ in Pune to transport critically ill Covid-19 patients. Under the initiative, a fleet of 25 auto-rickshaw ambulances equipped with oxygen cylinders and other medical equipment is on call around the clock. These are just very few humanitarian efforts that the businessman is at the helm of but seldom boasts about them.

With a keen aptitude and a strong attitude to turn problems into opportunities, Dr. Datar has remained a strong lead in steering his business to the great heights it is at today. He has tackled and faced challenges in the eye and worked around them in a manner that best assures his business and employees. From the many lessons he picked during the global economic slump in 2008, he has been able to deploy them during the pandemic that took place last year. He has ensured that the business runs simultaneously to continuously offer customers what they required during the Covid-19 restrictions, without compromising on quality.