UAE | General
Idea for major caviar business hatched at time of apprenticeship
The number of caviar farms is not enough to cover the present demand of the market, but Hamda hopes that by 2015 more farms will start producing caviar which will lead to more caviar in the market.
- By Sara Janahi, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 June 12, 2010
- Image Credit: Supplied picture
- A sample of the packaged Caspian caviar, alongside caviar dining accessories.
Dubai: Hamda Al Harizi is the proud owner of a self-made business that provides luxury Caspian caviar exclusively for the UAE and other GCC countries.
Her company Gourmet House is also engaged in importing and exporting expensive delicacies such as spices, saffron and caviar dining accessories.
Hamda has won recognition for her work by winning the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Awards in 2006 for Best Business Woman of the Year and Best Retail Business of the year.
The Emirati entrepreneur, who is a member of the Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation, also owns several caviar shops in major cities such as New York, Hong Kong and Dubai. Her clientele ranges from airlines, luxury hotels and royal families.
"I have dreamt of owning a successful business since I was a child. At the age of seven when other children were spending afternoons playing, I would gather bread so I could sell it to people around the neighbourhood and raise money. I always knew I wanted to be successful in business," Hamda said.
From the tender age of 12, Hamda worked as an apprentice in a family friend's caviar company. She has learnt everything about caviar in the four years she spent in the service of the family friend, from packaging, processing, to preserving the caviar.
"I have been in this business since the age of 12, learning everything from the very start. It came at the expense of my childhood..., but at least I made a name for myself in the market," she said proudly.
After completing high school, Hamda decided to set up her own business with the meager savings she managed to collect through her apprenticeship.
Her dedication and determination catapulted her small business from trading with a few kilogrammes of caviar to dealing in tonnes.
Client search
"At first I used to look for my own clients, usually setting business with short-term tourists that I would meet at the airport and be responsible for their safety and comfort in the country. I would help them find other business deals as well, serving many sides while doing so.
"I was very committed to saving money to grow my business. I would cut corners whenever I can and try my best to find other sources of income to help my business grow. I tried everything to set up my business and gain recognition in the market."
Her slow rise to success became more evident with the years. At first her business was concentrated in the Arab region, but by the late 1990s her company was distributing in areas as far as Europe and the US. By 2004 Hamda established the biggest caviar production company in the world in Dubai.
"I also own the biggest caviar farm in the world by the Caspian sea and another in China.
"I strongly believe that the world should only consume farmed caviar, especially since the number of sturgeon is depleting in the wild. In the 1990s we used to harvest over 400 tonnes of caviar from the Caspian Sea alone. Now we can hardly tip the scale over 75 tonnes. This is a scary number and reveals the level of exploitation of caviar in the Caspian Sea," Hamda said.
Hamda, who is an outspoken advocate of preserving the environment, and who won the Environment Award from Dubai Duty Free in 2003, strongly believes that sturgeon in the wild should be left alone in order to grow and reproduce or the world will face yet another extinction of a valued species.
Misconception
"There is no difference between farmed caviar and caviar harvested in the wild. People should know that and stop looking for the wild caviar because of the misconception that it is more natural, therefore more palatable and expensive.
"My farms are right beside the Caspian Sea so they grow in the same environment that the wild sturgeon grow.
"I also have the advantage of controlling their environment and protecting them from the effects of pollution."
The number of caviar farms is not enough to cover the present demand of the market, but Hamda hopes that by 2015 more farms will start producing caviar which will lead to more caviar in the market. This will also result in reducing the price of caviar in the market and allowing a larger number of consumers to enjoy this delicacy.
"My goal is to decrease the price of caviar and make it available for everyone. I don't want only the rich to enjoy this, I want every sector of society to be able to enjoy caviar, especially since it is highly nutritious and contains over 47 kinds of vitamins." She said.
Initiative
Another initiative of Hamda is to personally grow sturgeon in the farm until they are old enough, and then they will be released into the wild.
"About 10 per cent of the sturgeon that I grow I make sure that they are released in the wild. This is important to increase the number of sturgeon in the Caspian Sea in order to reproduce. Growing sturgeon is not easy, it takes around 12 years for a sturgeon to mature and start producing caviar.
That means 12 years of expenses spending on them personally until they mature.
"This is a risky business but I don't do it for the profit alone, I do it for the love I have for these creatures. This more than just a business for me, it's a personal hobby and passion."
Species: What is caviar?
Caviar, sometimes black caviar, is a luxury delicacy, consisting of processed, salted, non-fertilised sturgeon roe. The roe can be "fresh" (non-pasteurised) or pasteurised, the latter having much less gastronomic and economic value.
Traditionally the designation caviar is only used for sturgeon roe, namely from the wild sturgeon species from the Caspian Sea, in most cases from Russia or Iran (Beluga, Ossietra and Sevruga).
What is the strangest delicacy you have tried? Do you know an enterprising person who has a success story?
More from UAE General
More from UAE
Latest news
- MasterChef's George Calombaris coming to UAE
- Dubai Appeal Court upholds death sentence
- Businesswoman denies making indecent gesture
- 369 truckers fined for traffic violations
- Al Ain Zoo: Four eland antelopes make debut
- Three men held for robbery in Sharjah
- Street lights needed
- Fund to settle unpaid loans of UAE citizens
- Dubai civic body trims costs to achieve surplus
- Fedex delivers when it comes to its employees
- A tale of two books: Unsung and unread
- Signing 1,951 books in single session
- Valentine's Day: The cost of love
- Viber still working in the UAE
- UAE ministry scraps online labour transactions
Community Reports
-
Street lights needed
Authorities urged to act with haste before a major accident occurs in Al Nahda, Dubai
-
Motorists ignore stop sign on buses
Overtaking school vehicles can put students' lives at risk
-
Safety regulations flouted at Dubai work place
In Al Nahda 2, two workers were seen working on the crane boom at a height of 20m without a full body harness or safety net in violation of rules
-
Closing U-turns creates new risks
Authorities urged to reopen closed U-turns or construct new ones on Shaikh Khalid Al Qasimi Road in Sharjah
