A cool recipe for success for New Zealand chains

The Life: From burger joints to ice cream shops, more New Zealand-based companies are pushing into the UAE as trade between the island country and the Gulf grows to $1.2 billion.

BurgerFuel first looked to the Gulf in 2008 when it was seeking to push its brand internationally. Sarah Dea / The National

Those strolling along the Corniche in Abu Dhabi often stop for a cool treat at ice cream shops controlled by well-known brands such as Cold Stone or Baskin Robbins.

But New Zealand Natural, a small shop located across the street from the main restaurant hub at the beach, is an option with quirkier flavours such as kiwi pavlova and boysenberry dream.

While Natural is much smaller than its better-known rivals, it is one of a growing number of businesses based in New Zealand but fuelling a record volume of exports from the country into the region.

Last year, the value of goods exported by New Zealand into the Gulf rose to US$1.2 billion (Dh4.4bn), up from just $695 million in 2009, according to data released this week by New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE), a government economic development agency.

Since 2010, 80 per cent of New Zealand's exports into the UAE have been cooked up via the food and beverages industry. The recipe for success, which has resulted in more than 75 restaurant outlets popping up in the emirates, "comes down to the quality of products, and work NZTE has been doing directly with hotel managers and chefs as well", says Malcolm Millar, the New Zealand ambassador to the UAE.

Steve Jones, the New Zealand consul general and trade commissioner for Middle East and Africa, notes that other recent events such as an increase in commodity prices - particularly red meat and dairy products - have also helped to raise figures.

He also echoes Mr Millar's comments on companies from afar catering to the needs of local chefs.

"In the red meat sector, particularly in the UAE where there's a very high-end tourism market, there's a growing demand for high-quality beef products," Mr Jones says.

"There have been some companies working with chefs to produce meat with a particular set of flavours and colour characteristics which clients want.

"There's a lot of work being done on the production side in New Zealand to create cuts which chefs are keen to provide to certain clients," he says.

Other companies within the food and beverages industry are pushing for a mass appeal.

BurgerFuel Worldwide, a publicly listed company on the New Zealand Stock Exchange, pitches its "100 per cent pure New Zealand ground beef" at peckish patrons who wander through Jumeirah Beach Residence, Mirdif City Centre and Dubai Mall.

The company first considered the Gulf in 2008 when it was seeking to push its brand internationally, and started signing deals a year later despite the economic crisis gripping most of the world.

It now has three locations in Saudi Arabia, and is expanding its reach further through the UAE with new outlets planned for Abu Dhabi and a possible move into Sharjah.

"We're competing head-on with the American concepts," says Chris Mason, the chief executive of international markets at BurgerFuel.

"Not so much the multinationals that we all know of like Burger King and McDonald's, but more the fast-casual sector - your Shake Shacks, Fatburgers, Johnny Rockets and Gourmet Burger Kitchens."

New Zealand has been making an effort to diversify its exports to the Gulf by developing products and services in fields such as information and communications technology, education and specialised manufacturing.

Gallagher, a security firm, has averaged annual growth of about 20 per cent in this region, while Orion Health, New Zealand's largest health software company, is trying to streamline processes for patients in the Gulf by pushing the digital records systems in local hospitals.

Yet future growth across these sectors is by no means guaranteed, especially within the food and beverages industry.

"As long as tourists are attracted to the region then the opportunity for growth and expansion will continue to exist," says Mr Jones.

"The threat, really, is not one to New Zealand in particular - it's more a question of how Dubai and the UAE can continue to grow with its tourism sector."