Ali Gholami: The UAE’s leading fruit and vegetable company has an eye on sustainability

UAE’s leading fruit and vegetable company, Ali Gholami, is a family-run business committed to sustainability and freshness. Established in 1970 by Ali Panah Gholami in the Al Hamriya area of old Dubai, the modest business started off by importing and exporting fresh fruits and vegetables from Iran, India, Pakistan, Syria and Lebanon. It has now grown to be a successful venture recording sales of Dh300 million in 2019. The secret behind its remarkable growth has been an eye on quality products and building long-lasting relationship with customers and retailers, based on mutual trust. “We work with first-rate products and provide a first-class service. As a regional supplier we take pride in supporting the local communities which has only helped build our business over the years. We are located in the heart of Dubai, which is a fantastic trading hub in the region. Our key source markets are The Netherlands, Italy and Spain in Europe as well as the US, Australia and India and we export to countries, such as Seychelles, Maldives and GCC,” says Javid Gholami. The company is now moving to its new warehouse in Ras Al Khor in the Dubai Customs area.

“In a highly competitive market, only the fittest survive. The secret to our strength and success is integrity. It’s the driving force behind everything we do, from hiring employees to servicing of clients. As a family-owned and operated company, we stand by our word. The result is our clients enjoy our service, employees love their job, and stores operate at peak performance,” says Javid. Speaking about the challenges brought about by the pandemic, he says, “Covid-19 and the consequent travel suspensions and lockdowns in different countries around the world made things difficult for us. Payment collections were delayed, 60 days became 150 days and 90 days rolled over to 180. But thanks to our suppliers who were patient with us, we managed somehow. We looked at alternative source markets, such as Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan, worked hard and made sure that we did not have to lay off any staff member or cut salaries.” The 500-staff member company also supplies their prodycts to hotels, restaurants, hypermarkets and even cruise liners in the UAE.

Being primarily a fresh fruit and vegetable business, Ali Gholami takes its social responsibility to both the environment and its suppliers seriously. “We provide a daily delivery service with products hand-picked to individual customer requirements. Our success stems from our competitive prices, excellent quality, and customer-focused attitude.” says Javid. The company maintains its own temperature-controlled fleet to meet specific requirements for storage, handling and transport of fresh food and produce. “We also have a great experience in support services, including packaging and repacking and sanitising of fruit and vegetables, ripening, packaging return centres and juice factory,” he adds.

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