According to a study by Alpen Capital Middle East, as a result of its rising population, the UAE is expected to witness the fastest growth in food consumption by 2019. Mazola conferred that there is also an upsurge in food consumption anticipated in the other Gulf countries, resulting from promising macroeconomic developments. This increase is expected to be at 3.5% CAGR between 2014 and 2019, touching nearly 52 million metric tons. Mazola has also gained further growth in Saudi Arabia, which is the largest food-consuming nation in the GCC, with an estimated annual average growth of 3% from 2014. Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain have also shown similar growth patterns ranging from 2.7 % to 3.2 %. Qatar led the GCC food consumption growth at CAGR of 5.5 %, followed by the UAE at 4.8 %. Recent studies have shown that consumer spending in the GCC food retails sector is expected to be worth almost $106 billion by 2017. Saudi Arabia will continue to lead the region's food sector, accounting for 59% of the total consumption up until 2017. Saudi Arabia currently consumes 872kg of food per capita, Qatar 852kg, Kuwait 634kg, and Bahrain 453kg per capita while by 2017, per capita food consumption for the entire region is forecasted to reach 983kg. According to statistics based on Euromonitor findings, UAE's reliance on food imports amounts to more than 80% of its food needs with expectations of a compound annual growth rate of 8% on food and beverages spending in the UAE up till 2018. Amid all this growth in Saudi Arabia, Mazola, one of the pioneers of healthy and quality food products in the Middle East, had participated in the Saudi Food, Hotel & Hospitality Arabia (SFHHA) event recently. And now the brand aims to focus on expanding its business even further into the growing non-retail sector. As one of the steps to do so, Mazola has appointed Farm Fresh as its new HoReCa distributor in UAE. Farm Fresh is a leading marketer and distributor of branded frozen, chilled and dry food products in the UAE and Oman, having a direct reach and coverage over all market segments. "We feel that this move will give us the opportunity to increase business amongst professional staff that appreciate the quality and range of products that Mazola has to offer," said Simon Gottfried, Vice President, Middle East & North Africa. Whether its upgrades made to the factories, or developing new products beyond its heritage of corn oil, Mazola is constantly evolving. The manufacturer is the Number 2 brand of corn oil in Kuwait, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia, as well as having similar brand leadership for Mazola's mayonnaise range in Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi. In 2016, Mazola was awarded the Product of the Year Award (POY), an award voted for by consumers, in the Middle East for its sunflower oil in the consumer cooking oil category.
