Dubai: If you are looking to start selling food that you have made at home, is it possible to do so? Home cooks need to apply for the necessary licences and approvals to make sure they are following the country’s commercial and food and safety regulations. Here is all you need to know.
Getting the right business licence and municipal approval
For selling anything in the UAE, including food, an individual would need to have a business licence issued by an economic authority in the UAE. This could be an emirate’s economic department, or any of the free zones operating in the country.
Secondly, food-related activities need to be licensed by the municipal authority in the emirate. Whether you can get a municipality approval for your home kitchen would depend on the licence you apply for and the related restrictions.
Who can sell food made in their home kitchen?
To be able to register as a home-based cook, you can register for the trader licence, which is offered by the economic development departments in any emirate. It is offered by Dubai, Abu Dhabi and all other emirates as well.
However, this licence is available for specific nationalities only. If you are an Emirati or a GCC national, you can apply for this permit.
Asma Abdelmuhdi, who is owner of home-based business Bedy Kaak, makes authentic mamool biscuits (butter cookies filled with dates, figs or other nut-based mixes). She applied for the DED Trader Licence, after which Dubai Municipality conducted the checks at her home kitchen.
“The municipality will check the kitchen to make sure it is clean and meets their safety standards. Once the municipality provides its approval, DED will issue the trader licence,” she said.
How much does the application process cost?
According to Baishali Debnath, co-founder, EMAR EAT, an app that helps food entrepreneurs promote their food, the cost of the business licence issued by the economic department varies depending on the emirate in which you apply.
“If cooks would like to promote their food for sale they can do so by registering with the app. They would need to apply for initial registration with the economic department. They receive a registration number, which they can use to apply to the municipality for approval. The municipality will then conduct the necessary checks and if the municipality gives its approval, the licence will be issued by the economic department,” Debnath said.
If cooks would like to promote their food for sale they can do so by registering with the app. They would need to apply for initial registration with the economic department. They receive a registration number, which they can use to apply to the municipality for approval.
The yearly cost in Dubai is approximately Dh1,070. In Abu Dhabi, the licence is issued for Dh800 for two years.
I am a non-GCC expat, what are my options?
For UAE-based expatriates who are not GCC nationals, while you cannot get an approval for a home kitchen, they can use the services of a cloud kitchen after receiving the necessary trade licence from an economic department or a free zone.
You can apply for an e-commerce licence by providing the following documents:
1. Passport copy with visa page. You would also need to provide the entry stamp on your passport for when you entered the UAE.
2. Passport-sized photograph.
3. Filled out application form.
Cost
You can apply for two types of licences, depending on whether you need a visa or not.
• Dh8,400 (e-commerce and general trading activities)
• Dh17,499 (licence + free visa valid for three years)
The first option is applicable if you are already working full-time and have an employment visa, or if you are on a family visa.
If you wish to get a visa along with the licence, you can select the second option.
Working with approved service providers
As any food-related activity requires the necessary approvals from municipal and civil defence authorities in the emirate, a viable option for home bakers is to rent a cloud kitchen.
By tying up with these agents that have a mainland licence as outsourcing partners, baking enthusiasts can set up and operate their businesses legally in the UAE.
