Suppliers

WHY AUSTRALIAN MEAT IS GROWING MORE POPULAR IN THE GCC

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA), a producer-owned company, provides marketing, research and development services for the Australian cattle, sheep and goat industries. The Australian meat and livestock industry is a key supplier of safe, nutritious and halal-certified meat to the MENA region and assists in ensuring food security of the region. In an interview, Sam Gill, regional manager for MLA MENA, said: “The country of origin has become a rather important consideration, with around 50 percent of consumers in the GCC favoring Australian as an already-trusted supplier of red meat over other import suppliers. The combination of an unspoiled, wide and open environment as well as an unwavering commitment to quality is what makes our product so special.” With consumers prioritizing health and safety when choosing ingredients, it is important to highlight that the Australian meat industry implements worldleading practices and employs the latest technologies in processing and packing to deliver wholesome, safe food to Middle Eastern markets.

“Premium Australian meat brings traditional flavor to my table in both quality and texture,” added Gill. “Consumers will find it as delicious as, or perhaps even tastier than, dishes made from local meat.” lambandbeef.com

Read the full interview on hospitalitynewsmag.com

BRINGING THE FINEST EUROPEAN APPLES TO THE MIDDLE EAST

Daniel Soares, marketing export manager of Interfel, tells us how French apples are being promoted to consumers in the Middle East.

What’s special about French apples?

France produces on average 1.4 million tons of apples each year. The three main apple producing regions are the Loire Valley, southwest and southeast France. Nearly 65 percent of French apples carry the ecofriendly label. What are the apple varieties?

Seventy percent of the apples produced in France comprise classic varieties: Gala, golden, Granny Smith, Braeburn, Fuji, red, Elstar, Jonagold. The remaining 30 percent are specific orchard apples: Jaz™, Pink Lady®, Joya®, Choupette® and Antares®. We also have PGO apples like the apples from Limousin. Do you have a chef brand ambassador?

Yes, chef Charles Soussin. We share his recipes on our Instagram page (@FruitVegFromFr). interfel.com

Read the full interview on hospitalitynewsmag.com

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AT ITS BEST WITH JOHN BALIAN

An entrepreneurial mindset is what drove John Balian, CEO of BIM POS, to pursue ambitious expansion plans, despite the challenges of Covid-19. Here, we learn more about the products and services offered by BIM POS and how the firm is meeting the needs of its clients.

What can you tell us about your company?

BIM POS provides a full spectrum of pointof-sale and ERP solutions for hospitality and retail management, targeting medium to large multi-brand businesses. Our unique solutions range from front-end point-ofservice and customer-service tools to backoffice operation management systems that automate the entire operations of a business.

How were you able to overcome the challenges of Covid-19?

Firstly, we worked remotely and continued to serve our clients, who are located in 30 countries, from home. Our teams were accessing their workspaces on cloud easily and securely. We also prioritized very urgent and high-priority requests in order to assist our clients in overcoming pandemic-related problems. We did most of the implementations and client trainings remotely, introduced new products — like the contactless digital menu — in-house digital menus and opened integrations with many e-commerce websites to ease the delivery process and purchasing experience of our customers’ clients. Furthermore, we grew our team by 20 percent and witnessed an increase in sales by empowering our sales channels around the world and opening our second franchise office in Ghana.

What’s your most recent news?

Our newest products are contactless mobile digital menus, self-checkout terminals, third-party integrations with e-commerce websites and food aggregators. Furthermore, our latest project is franchising BIM POS to Ghana and hopefully to other countries. bimpos.com

Read the full interview on hospitalitynewsmag.com