Meet the UAE’s muesli crusader Bassel Kabbabe

Dubai entrepreneur Bassel Kabbabe and his pharmacist wife Karen have always been long-time muesli fans. But it was after their son Adam was born two years ago, that they started seeing things differently.

“Up until that point we were not loyal to any brand, and just bought whichever one we could find,” Kabbabe says. “But when Adam started eating solids, we started paying more attention to the contents and realised many of them were packed with sugar and preservatives.”

The new parents started making their own muesli mix. And it was not long before a business idea began to take shape.

“We thought about how nice it would be to be given that choice, to make your own natural, preservative-free mix,” Kabbabe recalls.

Then, a year of focus groups and many market researches later, mix&muesli, the UAE’s first and only online muesli shop was born on March 23.

The website offers two options: pre-mixed and customised, with a focus on gluten-free, organic and sugar-free muesli. The premixes are developed by the company’s in-house nutritionist to target various lifestyles and types of health-conscious customers.

“There are also 14 bases, 60 ingredients and 46 add-ons. That means you can make up to a billion customisations,” explains Kabbabe. “We want to give people the freedom to choose how they want their muesli and customise it to their needs, whether it’s low fat, an energy booster or one that’s full of antioxidants.”

A special meal-replacement suhour mix of nine different combination has also been launched for Ramadan.

Once a customer has created their mix and paid online, it takes about 24 hours for delivery. Premixed muesli start at Dh27 for 500g and customised ones start at Dh18 for 500g.

While a lot of the natural ingredients are shipped from a supplier in Europe, Kabbabe says a concerted effort is made to source products locally.

The 35-year-old Egyptian-Canadian quit his commercial management firm to focus on mix&muesli full time. He and his business partner, who he doesn’t want to name, dug into their life’s savings to get the company off the ground.

“It was definitely not easy, especially having a family to support with it, because you lose constant income,” Kabbabe recalls. “But I have a supportive wife that keeps pushing me and helping and encouraging me.

“We went through a lot of ups and downs when we were starting off. Getting everything aligned was the biggest challenge because you’d often find problems in an issue you thought you solved four months ago. You have to be innovative. Also, the fact that I was doing something I like and was very passionate about it, kept me going”.

The reception to mix&muesli has been very positive, says Kabbabe.

“There’s a big health movement in the UAE and that’s a great motivation. The rise in the number of gyms and health food outlets is phenomenal,” he says. “We are partnering with gyms for pop-ups and provide big offices with healthy breakfasts, spreading the word about muesli and its health benefits.”

The next step is to establish the brand in the UAE and then look at the GCC and wider Middle East.

“We want to offer people a healthy alternative that suits both their lifestyle as well as their changing tastes,” he says.

To find out more and to order your mix, visit mixandmuesli.com.