• Home
• /
• Supplements

Tapping Taste Of The Nation

Dr Dhananjay Datar aka ‘Masala King’ is a household name in the UAE with his strategic business acumen

Just two months ago, Al Adil opened its 50th store in the Jumeirah Village Circle in Dubai, coinciding with the UAE’s Year of the 50th.

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 now 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. “Government authorities are supportive, and with more people coming to the UAE for Expo 2020 Dubai, we believe this is a good time to expand. With this in mind, we are planning to launch at Al Warqa and Al Arjan in Dubai as well other areas in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi. We are also refurbishing six to seven stores for re¬launch this year.”

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. We have traditionally been specialised in dinner time Indian items, but now, this will be a good market for us. We have also been adding more staff members from these states who have all observed a growing demand from this region, 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.”

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 ran simultaneously to continuously offer customers what they required during the Covid-19 restrictions, without compromising on quality.