Rowena Tadeo wraps chocolate cookies at ChoCo'a. Jeff Topping / The National
Rowena Tadeo wraps chocolate cookies at ChoCo'a. Jeff Topping / The National

Sweet times for Dubai chocolatier ChoCo'a



Assem Hamzeh and his wife, Dina, love chocolates so much they send each other emails about different varieties when they are relaxing at home in their sitting room.

But it is not simply because they like the taste. Together they own ChoCo'a, a Dubai business that makes chocolates, pastries and cakes, which it sells in two boutiques.

"We never really switch off in the pursuit of chocolate perfection," says Mr Hamzeh, the managing director, who was in the chocolate industry in his native Lebanon and then Saudi Arabia for 10 years before moving to Dubai.

ChoCo'a, which employs about 50 people, is just one of about 78,000 small and medium enterprises in Dubai, according to official data. It started with a state-of-the-art factory in Al Quoz and a boutique in Al Barsha, then a branch in the Dubai Mall in 2009, which it was forced to close in 2010.

"It was working very well as a marketing tool. But ChoCo'a works best as a stand-alone boutique," says Reem Bsat, the business development manager, a Swiss-Lebanese national who has been in the UAE for three years.

"People choose to come to our store. It's a destination. In a mall, people are just passing by on their way to another shop and don't really buy a lot," she says.

In 2010, ChoCo'a opened a boutique in Abu Dhabi on Muroor Road and has plans to expand further this year, launching franchises in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Although Mr Hamzeh declined to reveal turnover figures, the chocolate industry in the Emirates was worth about Dh817 million (US$222.41m) last year, according to statistics from Euromonitor.

"Today, the brand remains a boutique company, as we did not adopt the style of large corporate businesses," says Mr Hamzeh.

So what is it like running a small business here? The National spent a day in the ChoCo'a office, factory and nearby Al Barsha boutique to see how the business operates.

8.15am

The office is quiet aside from the chime of a computer coming to life, but next door the factory is already a hive of activity. "Today we will make 35 to 40 cakes," says Raymonda Saadeh, the master decorator, who wears a Lebanese flag on the sleeve of her chef whites. Dozens of order forms are tacked up on the wall behind her. One includes an appeal from a client. "Please make it very nice. There's a lot of important people who will come to the party," it shouts in capital letters.

9am

Over in the pastry department, cakes are defrosting on the stainless steel worktop, while two pastry sous chefs dance around each other decorating them with white strips, milk chocolate dots and edible gold leaf. Once the finishing touches have been applied, the cakes are placed in boxes by Giancarlo Cruz, an employee in charge of logistics who has been with the company since 2008. He stacks them on a trolley and wheels them out to transport them to the boutique in Al Barsha in time for the 10am opening.

11am

Only Ms Saadeh is still working in the speciality-cake area. "They're taking a break. I like to work in one stretch," she says, rolling pink fondant, a thick paste made of sugar and water, between her fingers to make the first of 19 faces for a cake in the shape of a family tree. Michaeal Angelo, an assistant, is applying the finishing touches to one covered in fondant daisy shapes, while sous chef Piyal Edirisuriya is cutting green fondant into ribbons for a Hawaiian hula skirt. After they finish, both record the weight of their cakes and take a picture with a digital camera, which they will use as a reference in case of a complaint.

1pm

On the production line, small almond squares start their journey on the conveyor belt, being first coated in chocolate and passing through a cooling tunnel to help them set. Helper Dinesh Lakmal waits at the other side to scoop up the finished chocolates and place them on a tray piled with sweets to transfer to the wrapping area. There they file into a machine and emerge at the other side neatly wrapped, dropping from the conveyor belt into a cardboard box. At the same time, employees sort sweets into boxes so they can be shipped off to a major Middle East brand as part of a tender bid.

2pm

The noise of a hammer reverberates around the factory as pastry sous chef Ravindra Parana attacks a 5-kilogram bar of chocolate in the kitchen. He empties the packet into a box before wheeling it over to a pot, where he melts it down, using a giant, handheld liquidiser to break up any stubborn chunks. In the office, graphic designer Nedaa Safa is in the middle of finalising a booklet for the big Middle East tender. "I'm waiting for the information from the production manager," says Ms Safa, who has been with the company a little more than two years.

3pm

In the boutique, designer Fayrouz Said wraps a box in pink paper with a white bow for a potential client. "It is a sample for a client," she says. A customer collects a large chocolate arrangement and a bag full of money pots to give away as gifts to visitors of their new baby boy. A sales assistant takes an order from a mother with two children for a cake with crayons on top as another assistant takes a call from someone wanting to cancel theirs. "Can I have your name?" asks another sales assistant as she picks up the phone.

5pm

Back in the pastry kitchen, Mr Parana is laying out silicone mats on the long stainless steel worktop. He uses a spatula to scoop chocolate sponge mixture out of an oversized spoon and spreads it with a contraption he uses to level the mixture. In the speciality cakes section, Ms Edirisuriya is finishing off one in the shape of three stacked pillows. There are four on the go now, but there are still quite a few order sheets tacked to the wall. "I probably won't get away until about 8pm," says Ms Saadeh, smiling.

5pm

In the office at the official end of working hours, the HR and finance departments are empty, but three employees sit around a circular table discussing the final details of the tender bid. "The contract would be pretty big," says Ms Bsat, who is checking that everything is in place for the launch of a Facebook application to promote the company's new online shop.

6pm

The final light in the office is switched off, leaving only the speciality cakes section working on behind the scenes. They will be there for at least another 15 minutes before hanging up their chef-white uniforms.

The five new places of worship

Church of South Indian Parish

St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch

St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch

St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais

Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais

 

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014%20PRO%20MAX
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RESULTS
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The finalists

Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho

Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson

Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)

Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid

Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)

Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola

The specs

Engine: Turbocharged four-cylinder 2.7-litre

Power: 325hp

Torque: 500Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh189,700

On sale: now

Test

Director: S Sashikanth

Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

Star rating: 2/5

World record transfers

1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m

Biography

Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related

Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.

Family: Wife and three children.

Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed

Based: Muscat

Launch year: 2018

Number of employees: 40

Sector: Online food delivery

Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception 

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now