Co-op Islami to launch operations in United Kingdom in major initiative to promote Halal meat products in Europe

Mr. Saleh Saeed Lootah, Managing Director of Co-Op Islami, said that they selected London as the company's first European distribution centre because of the city's economic importance as a hub for business and finance.

He said that United Kingdom had a Muslim community of three and half million people and its ethnic composition was similar to that of the UAE. Asian Muslims accounted for 80 percent of the Muslim community in Britain while the rest were Muslims of Arab origin and from other regions of the world, as well as British Muslims.

Mr. Lootah said: "Our decision to target the European markets is part of a global plan that reflects the main principle of this company since its inception 20 years ago to promote and provide Halal meat products for the benefit of Muslims worldwide. Having started to produce safe and clean Halal products, our company adopted a strategic marketing policy to tap Islamic communities while keeping in mind the needs and competitive nature of the international markets".

Mr. Saleh Abdullah Lootah, Assistant General Manager (Operations) at Co-op Islami, said that Co-Op Islami expected to take 5 percent of the market share in the meat production sector in the United Kingdom just by launching its operations in London. He said that studies undertaken by the company showed that its market share would reach very high proportions during their current five-year marketing plan.

Co-Op Islami plans to expand its European operations within a short time and will set up a production unit in London to help meet the requirements of the markets, he added. In the first stage Co-Op Islami will launch frozen chicken and chicken parts and also export directly to their distribution centre in London from their supplier in Brazil. Co-Op Islami has also reached an agreement with a leading British company that specializes in marketing Halal products.

He said that the expansion programme will also cover North American and Asian markets, especially countries in the Indian sub-continent, Indonesia and Malaysia, which have large Muslim populations. Co-Op Islami will also launch operations in East Europe and the Muslim countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, particularly in the Central Asian region, which has a large concentration of Muslims.

Mr. Lootah said that Co-Op Islami had done a study to understand the nature of the market in the United Kingdom and was about to complete market research in the other international markets prior to launching operations there.

A Co-Op Islami delegation consisting of the company's Business Development Manager, Mr. Shahid Ahmed and its Export Manager, Mr. Nihad Abdul Jawad visited the United Kingdom recently, during which they met representatives of distribution companies and obtained a first hand insight into other Halal products that were available in the market and how they have fared.

Mr. Shahid said that the Islamic community in the United Kingdom was confused about Halal products in the market and were uncertain if they were genuine or not, as there is no official authority to determine this or control this operation including carrying out checks to ascertain if the products were Halal Also, production was done by small companies, and as a result no one was able to monitor the market on a regular basis.

He said that representatives from the Islamic community in London welcomed the Co-Op Islami delegation and the company's initiative to start operations there. They expressed confidence and trust in the leading UAE company because of its performance in this sector for the last 20 years.

Co-op Islami has continuously introduced innovative production and marketing strategies including the provision of 100 percent pure halal foods and the use of state-of-the-art production equipments and processes in accordance with international standards as part of its efforts to tap the huge potential outside its traditional Arab markets, especially Arab and Muslim communities in Europe and other regions.

Co-op Islami ensured its chickens were slaughtered in the traditional Islamic method by hand, using a sharp knife without stunning in contrast to most other producers who slaughtered their chicken using electric knives that cut the chicken at random.

Co-op Islami was set up by Dubai Cooperative Society in 1981 to provide genuine halal meat products as per Islamic methods. Starting with frozen chicken, Co-op Islami expanded to provide burgers, sausages, kebabs, minced meat, etc.