DUBAI // Western sweet tooths have developed a growing taste for the UAE’s chocolate-covered dates, with exports of the confectionery expanding globally.
Notions Group, maker of the increasingly famous Chocodate, sent its first shipment to Britain in June and last week the move bore fruit as Tesco, the UK’s largest retailer, began selling the sweet.
“We have received very positive feedback from Tesco and are confident that this is but the beginning of a fruitful venture,” said Fawaz Masri, chief executive of Notions.
“The UK is a great reference market for ethnicity and diversity, and is often used as a benchmark to develop leads with the European community by building on our success story.”
More than 150,000 boxes of Chocodate – or more than 2 million dates – have been sold by Tesco.
Mr Masri set a target of 10 new markets this year, and is only one away from achieving it.
But no one is happier than Emirati expatriates in London, who say seeing the sweets in UK shops makes them feel closer to home.
“I noticed them last month and was really surprised to find some of our local products here in the UK,” said Mariam Al Mansouri, 23, an Emirati student.
“We’re so used to having food exported to the UAE that we never expect to see our own products abroad but it’s a really good way for foreigners to see what we can produce here and how good it actually is.”
Mr Masri, who is also the founder of the company, said Notions was quick to take advantage of the rise in demand for its product.
“A few years ago, we noticed a rise in demand for Chocodate in western markets,” he said.
“We were quick to respond to this by mobilising an export team that could help to identify the right partners and retailers to partner with in the various markets. Our quest led us to more than 50 markets outside the region – a number that is growing.
“The UK, like many other markets we export to, has a large expatriate community that likes dates with chocolates, and so the drive to export [there] was purely based on demand.”
The company moved its production plant to Dubai Investment Park a few months ago. Its factory there is four times larger than the previous one.
“We doubled our overall production this year at our factories in La Ronda in Dubai and Star Foods in Saudi Arabia,” Mr Masri said. “Our overall output is up to 15,000 tonnes of produce a year, 5,000 of which are from Dubai alone.”
Yousra Hamdan, 27, an expatriate to London from Saudi Arabia, said the Arabian Gulf should start exporting more of its fruit abroad.
“We have so many date palm trees in the region, so countries should start taking advantage of that,” Ms Hamdan said. “I think it’s a good way to make use of them.”
The Chocodate brand is 20 years old and has slowly spread across the GCC and wider Middle East. Four years ago, it moved into international markets and last year the company reached its sales target of 15 per cent growth. Exports represent half of Notions’ business and, by the end of this year, it will have products in 60 markets around the world.
cmalek@thenational.ae
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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5.45pm: Raging Torrent
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Fixture and table
UAE finals day: Friday, April 13 at Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
- 3pm, UAE Conference: Dubai Tigers v Sharjah Wanderers
- 6.30pm, UAE Premiership: Dubai Exiles v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership – final standings
- Dubai Exiles
- Abu Dhabi Harlequins
- Jebel Ali Dragons
- Dubai Hurricanes
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Third-place play-off: New Zealand v Wales, Friday, 1pm
India Test squad
Kohli (c), Dhawan, Rahul, Vijay, Pujara, Rahane (vc), Karun, Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Pandya, Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Thakur
KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
Profile
Company: Libra Project
Based: Masdar City, ADGM, London and Delaware
Launch year: 2017
Size: A team of 12 with six employed full-time
Sector: Renewable energy
Funding: $500,000 in Series A funding from family and friends in 2018. A Series B round looking to raise $1.5m is now live.
World ranking (at month’s end)
Jan - 257
Feb - 198
Mar - 159
Apr - 161
May - 159
Jun – 162
Currently: 88
Year-end rank since turning pro
2016 - 279
2015 - 185
2014 - 143
2013 - 63
2012 - 384
2011 - 883
Apple product price list
iPad Pro
11" - $799 (64GB)
12.9" - $999 (64GB)
MacBook Air
$1,199
Mac Mini
$799
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
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RESULT
Manchester United 1 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Man United: Dunk (66' og)
Man of the Match: Shane Duffy (Brighton)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Match info
Liverpool 3
Hoedt (10' og), Matip (21'), Salah (45 3')
Southampton 0
Tottenham's 10 biggest transfers (according to transfermarkt.com):
1). Moussa Sissokho - Newcastle United - £30 million (Dh143m): Flop
2). Roberto Soldado - Valencia - £25m: Flop
3). Erik Lamela - Roma - £25m: Jury still out
4). Son Heung-min - Bayer Leverkusen - £25m: Success
5). Darren Bent - Charlton Athletic - £21m: Flop
6). Vincent Janssen - AZ Alkmaar - £18m: Flop
7). David Bentley - Blackburn Rovers - £18m: Flop
8). Luka Modric - Dynamo Zagreb - £17m: Success
9). Paulinho - Corinthians - £16m: Flop
10). Mousa Dembele - Fulham - £16m: Success
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
