The Farmer’s Garden in Dubai brings to life the notion of a community shop

Rashid Khalaf Al Habtoor, founder of The Farmer's Garden, explains what inspired his new healthy grocery store concept.

The Farmer's Garden in Al Wasl Square in Dubai. Courtesy Farmer's Garden

What inspired you to open The Farmer’s Garden?

With a strong passion for green and healthy living, I noticed a consumer craving for fresh, nutritious produce that is grown locally in the UAE. This spurred me on to create a welcoming home-grown gourmet grocery-store concept that people can easily access in their local neighbourhoods, which supports the burgeoning health-conscious lifestyle and growing desire to explore home cooking. As well as inspiring consumers to sample local produce, I also believe it is important to educate the community on the benefits of our ingredients to keep the healthy-eating passion alive among foodies and families.

What sets The Farmer’s Garden apart from other health-food stores?

The Farmer’s Garden is a completely unique concept in the region. It brings to life the traditional notion of a home-grown community shop by serving up a sustainable take on local produce from the UAE and an exclusive range of nature’s best from around the globe. We work very closely with local suppliers such as Crumbs bakery in Al Barari to create an authentic experience for consumers, which supplements our unique range of superfoods, pastas, olive oils, cheeses, preserves and ingredients sourced from a unique range of international brands.

We also pride ourselves on our responsibility to the local environment. We have eliminated the use of plastic bags in favour of 100 per cent recyclable carrying material and all our products are sourced from their areas of origin via sustainable methods.

What are some of the more unusual, hard-to-find items in The Farmer’s Garden?

Our full range of brands are exclusive to The Farmer’s Garden, so consumers can experience an array of unusual items and products for specific dietary needs. Items include exclusive spinach and beetroot baguettes from Crumbs bakery, Indulac Portuguese cow, sheep and goat’s-milk cheese, bio-friendly grains and gluten-free products from Nature’s Choice. We even have organic dairy-free milk alternatives from So Delicious.

What’s the need here for stores?

We appreciate the gourmet market is growing in Dubai, but the awareness of the benefits and access to organic produce is still limited in some places, which is why we’re working hard to bring choice to the local community with the finest range of ingredients for meal preparation.

What’s the feeling in Dubai – are more people asking for stores such as this?

Yes, we’ve noticed a growing hunger for fresh produce to support healthy lifestyles, ­exemplified by the popularity of artisanal food markets here in Dubai. To nurture this growing desire, we work hand-in-hand with the foodie community on a local level to provide consumers with an abundance of nutritional food options for a healthy alternative to the daily food shopping experience.

The Farmer's Garden is open daily from 9am to 9pm in Al Wasl Square near Safa Park. The flagship store is due to open in March on Sheikh Zayed Road, with two additional stores – on Sheikh Zayed Road and in Al Wasl Vita – already confirmed. For more information, call 04 321 2621 or visit thefarmers-garden.com