Emirati girl hits street with food truck of all-natural soft serves

Abu Dhabi - Aseel was all of nine years and on a trip to the US when she was floored by the taste of a soft serve.

Aseel Buhaji, an Emirati post-graduate-turned entrepreneur, is out on the street with her food truck of an all-natural and healthy ice creams and soft serves. Aseel is part of the new age Emiratis who are thinking beyond comfortable jobs and chasing their dreams, and in her case, realising it too.
Aseel was all of nine years and on a trip to the US when she was floored by the taste of a soft serve. And ever since, she wanted to create something similar for the people back in the UAE.
"While in the US, it was for the first time I had tasted something like that. It was phenomenal, very distinctive and the flavour lasted in my head for years. I wanted to create something special which can compete with that same taste. It was always in mind. I knew this was a saturated market. So, it had to have something distinctive, sustainable, innovative and experimental. I started working on a concept of making an all-natural soft serve without any preservatives, low on calories, incorporating new flavours which people aren't used to."
The concept grew in her throughout her years at Al Nahda National Schools Abu Dhabi and later as she studied finance at the Zayed University. "The whole concept took final shape when I was doing my master's degree at the Columbia University in New York."
And finally with the help of family members, Aseel, the youngest of four siblings, rolled out her food truck Swerve at Marsa Mina.
"My family was in the kitchen helping me out to put the recipes together. There were lots of sleepless nights and wasted products. This food truck is lot of work between me and my brother, who is also my partner. Our food truck is a blend of traditional and modern life."
However, she clarifies that her Swerve isn't a place for classics like chocolate, vanilla, butterscotch and rest.
"I focus on quality over quantity and that's why my menu is limited to just four flavours - marshmallow, pistachio, sweet potato and black sesame. But I am looking to expand with seasonal flavours. Also, the toppings we use are free of gluten."
Swerve, she said, is a concept which can provide residents and tourists taste of all-natural flavours matching international standards. "Swerve is my new baby. We have a lot of plans, including to expand to Dubai."
ashwani@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi