Gulf Food: Choithrams - The promise of goodness for over 75 years

Feb 13 2022

Choithrams has consistently looked at improving the quality of food delivered

At one of the largest gatherings of the world’s food industry since the start of the global pandemic, Choithrams will stand out with the message of Goodness. For over 75 years the brand has served the world with the ‘Full of Goodness’ promise, operating across the spectrum of food systems in Europe, Asia, Africa and Americas, serving markets of more than 100 million consumers.

As a brand that brings goodness to every plate, a brand that is active in the food production, distribution and retail sectors across the globe, Choithrams is guided by a long-standing and strategic partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP), the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate. Choithrams is continuously looking to improve the quality of food consumed, reduce the quantum of food wasted, efficiently upgrade how food is grown, distributed and retailed.

The brand’s UAE journey started with the first store in 1974. Today, Choithrams is a household name with more than 40 stores across the emirates, and is looking at several more store openings this year. The brand has been operating for more than 48 years in the Middle East. In the region, its organisational strength is based on presence in Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, giving Choithrams as a group, the competitive advantage of market insights, experience, expertise, and local market knowledge to adapt swiftly to customer requirements.

Within UAE, it is well-known as a large FMCG distributor servicing general and modern trade channels. A selection of leading multinational brands that it distribute s include Rainbow, Quaker, PVM, Taj Mahal, Mother’s Recipe, Weetabix, Frito-Lay’s, Halwani, Capilano and many more. Choithrams has been growing these brands in the region for decades. The brand is not just bringing goodness to every plate, but to every cup as well, given its unmatched service to tea shops.

Choithrams’ house labels Goodness Foods and Leone tea enjoy huge popularity. With 500+ products in its portfolio, Goodness Foods, brings the choicest selection of fruits and vegetables, juices, dry fruits, groceries and ready to eat meals to meet every customer need. Leone tea, blended and manufactured by an in-house team, is served in more than 2,000 cafeterias every day.

At Choithrams, the embedded network infrastructure delivers results. The brand’s success is built on multiple distribution centres across the UAE with one of the largest van distribution fleets. It is among a handful of companies with significant footprint in both retail and distribution — all under the same roof. This translates to tremendous opportunities all round. Suppliers can introduce new brands by using retail stores as test centres. Choithrams’ experienced sales force achieve targets by leveraging strong relationships with key retailers. Often, these success stories are scripted through a joint business plan with suppliers.

Choithrams has kept pace with the online shopping trends, accelerated by the pandemic. It has been at the forefront of online retail even before the crisis. It continues to invest in technology, supply chain, and infrastructure. Choithrams.com is a natural extension of this retail model, so, the tweaks are minimal, as it is geared up to scale easily.

The launch of Bounz, the loyalty partner has helped create a further value-add to customers. Across the UAE stores Choithrams has seen high engagement rate in terms of enrollments, accruals and redemptions since the loyalty programme was introduced in July 2021.