Galadari ice cream wins prestigious franchise award

Galadari ice cream, that operates Baskin-Robbins in the region, has won the prestigious franchise operator of year at the Arab Franchise Award ceremony. Held concurrently with the Arab Franchise Expo, the ceremony celebrated and recognised some of the region’s 2022's top franchise entrepreneurs, leaders and their legacy .

The event, centred around the franchise industry, brought together 100 brands and 60 franchise companies, with delegates from more than 20 countries participating.

“Winning the Franchise Operator of the Year award is a major accomplishment for our team,” said Stanly Abraham, CFO of F&B division for Galadari Brothers. “It recognises our dedication to serving premium quality Baskin-Robbins ice cream and service to our customers across the region. As the first American QSR brand and the largest single franchisee with over 1,000 stores in the region, we are grateful to our loyal customers and dedicated team members for their continued support. We are proud of this achievement and will continue to work hard to maintain our position as the leading ice cream provider in the GCC. We would like to thank Arab Franchise for honouring us with this prestigious award.”

Galadari Food & Beverage Division – a subsidiary of the Galadari Brothers Group – has been a Baskin-Robbins licensee for over 40 years and operates over 1000 Baskin-Robbins stores across the Middle East and Australia along with Dunkin’ Donuts in Qatar.

Importance of franchises

The ceremony began with a keynote speech by the chief guest of the event Dr Eesa Mohammed Bastaki, President of the University of Dubai and a recipient of the highest award in the UAE in the field of science, the Emirates Excellence Award in Sciences, Literature and Arts.

Speaking extensively about the latest insights that highlighted the importance of home-grown franchise brands, he also addressed how these trends can influence the local economy.

“Local brands have more opportunities to discover their potential client’s needs, preferences, and what their competitors lack,” he said. “This allows them to meet their customers' needs every single time. They increase employment. Starting a new business has a big impact on job creation within your city.”

The Arab Franchise Expo helped businesses from across the world forge partnerships and deals of more than Dhs 120 million were generated at the event.

Organisers of the expo said they had received very encouraging responses from the participants. “[It] has prompted us to target more franchise brands for the next year’s event, covering 15 sectors in multiple cities in the Arab countries and a grand event in London to make sure home-grown brands from Arab countries gain global exposure,” said chairman of Arab Franchise Expo, Khaled Al Maeena.

• UAE
• UAE