Rizwan Sajan: When do I stop being Indian UAE's Masala King ...

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Enterprise
UAE’s Masala King:
Dhananjay Datar
By: Bandana Jain
Dr. Dhananjay Datar is ranked 34th on the Arabian
Business Indian Power List in UAE-MENA. TII takes
a peek into the life of the Gulf’s eminent spice king,
Chairman of the Dh 148 million Al Adil Group.
The history of Al Adil Trading Co.
LLC, division of Masala King Exports
(India) Pvt. Ltd. is similar to the spice
traders of ancient years, who left
Indian shores for the distant markets
of Africa, Gulf, USA, Canada, and Europe.
Established in 1984 in Bur Dubai as a small
Indian grocery store, Al Adil has flourished into
a large spice empire, serving the entire GCC
Dhananjay Datar with his Rolls Royce, the first Rolls Royce
Phantom in Dubai
and beyond. “The main reason that made us
choose Dubai is due to its lucrative potential of
having a duty free status and also its proximity
to India and other parts of the world”, explains
Dr. Datar who also happens to be a Doctor in
Business Administration.
Al Adil Trading Co. LLC has become a
familiar name in many Indian households in
UAE. It is a reputed grocery store that sells
more than 8,500 food items. “We produce
masalas, spices, pickles, flours, pulses and
other Indian food items under the Peacock
brand name. We sell packed flour in each
of our outlets, which also has an attached
grinding mill. Catering mainly to the Indian
expat community in UAE, our customers vary
from households to five-star hotels, catering
companies, Dubai Duty Free, inflight catering,
hospitals and many more.”
Al Adil is proud to own a manufacturing
unit in the Al Quoz Industrial Area & Dubai
Investment Park, and its manufacturing
capacity was considerably upgraded last year.
It also has an Indian arm designated Masala
King Exports in Mumbai, which is one of the
leading exporters of quality branded Indian
pulses, spices and other grocery items as
well as non-food items from the Indian subcontinent.
From a small grocery store in Bur Dubai,
Al Adil has proudly expanded into a network
of 22 supermarkets, two flour mills and spice
factories in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and
Ajman with Masala King Exports (India) Pvt.
Ltd, its Mumbai export division. The company
is proud to have a monopoly in the sale of
Indian spices & food stuff in the UAE.
‘‘ Al Adil
Trading
Co. LLC
has
become
a familiar
name
in many
Indian
households
in
UAE. It is
a reputed
grocery
store
that sells
more than
8,500 food
items.
‘‘
“Setting up a business in a foreign country
was not the easiest of tasks, but thanks to my
father, Late Mahadeo Datar we managed to
set it up well and have taken it this far. There
were trying times but what was important
is the courage with which we overcame.
We managed every struggle with the
encouragement and support of our well-wishers
and customers. Having started off with just
three employees, today our group employs 375
employees directly and about 500 indirectly in
the UAE and in India,” declares a very satisfied
Datar.
There is no doubt that Al Adil’s rigorous
expansion has taken the UAE business scene
by storm. Al Adil’s mid- to long-term plans
include expansion in other GCC countries also.
The company’s major focus is on establishing
a marked presence in the UAE by catering
predominantly to the demands of the Indian
expatriate community in the UAE while
expanding its operations to other Middle East
countries in the near future. Keeping up with
this vision, Al Adil recently opened new stores
in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Doha. The
company has also diversified into import and
export under the special class establishment
Dhananjay Datar receiving the Best Enterprise Award at
Oxford in United Kingdom.
with imports and exports to the US, Canada,
Tanzania, Kenya, Switzerland, Italy, Eritrea,
Kuwait, Muscat and UAE. Al Adil also plans to
boost its growth by launching Masala King
Export Trading Pvt. Ltd in UAE to manufacture
a whole range of Indian food and grocery
items.
‘Home away from home’ for its customers,
Al Adil has consistently retained the loyalty of
its customers. “This can be attributed to the
quality of our products that are total value for
money. Also, Al Adil’s customers can count on
the diversified range of hygienically – packed
Dhananjay Datar and his wife Vandana Datar with
Pratibha Patil (former President of India)
products.” Talking about the factors that are
fuelling Al Adil’s rigorous expansion plans
Dr. Datar reveals a simple, straightforward
strategy, “We are making dedicated efforts
to fuel the company’s growth in the market
through special offers and promotions whilst
maintaining high standards of quality.”
Being known as the Spice King and one of
the leading chains of specialty supermarkets
in the UAE is surely no mean feat. When asked
how it feels to be conferred with the title
Datar says, “It is a matter of great pleasure and
distinction to be known as the Spice King and
I feel really honoured for this recognition. We,
at Al Adil are very thankful to our customers for
putting their trust in our brand and helping us
achieve new milestones in the business. I am
also very thankful to government authorities in
Dubai who have been lending us their wholehearted
support and have made us what we are
today.”
Winning discerning and highly reputed,
quality conscious customers like Dubai Duty
Free, Emirates, Sheraton, Abela, etc has made
Al Adil carve an outstanding niche in the
market. Recognized as an ISO 22000, HACCP,
GMP, GHP company in 2006, its journey of
growth over the past 25 years has been packed
by milestones that pay tribute to the company’s
high standards of excellence.
In this recession – stricken world, where
businesses are finding it hard to survive, the
Al Adil group has seen remarkable success,
opening new outlets at a time like this. Datar
says, “The food business in particular was
not affected much by the downturn, which
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