Masafi to quench Japanese thirst

Masafi will export mineral water to Japan following the recent approval from the Japanese regulatory authority.

The company regards Japan as one of the largest markets for Masafi water in the Far East. It has appointed a leading Japanese distributor to ensure that its brand will be available in all food stores.

When Emirates became the first Arab airline to operate direct flights to Japan, Masafi announced that its bottled water will be be sold in commercial quantities in Japan.

Abdul Rahman Al Ghurair, chairman of Masafi, spoke to Gulf News about the remarkable achievements of the product. He said he was thrilled with the approval of the food and health authority in Japan to distribute Masafi in the country, which represents one of the biggest single market for the company. Japan has a population of 127 million.

He said Masafi has been distributing water in more than 10 countries in Asia and Africa and in the neighbouring GCC states, in addition to the UAE.

But Japan represents a different challenge as the mechanism of the market there is very complicated and different from those in other countries.

Al Ghurair said it will be quite a different experience and Masafi has been fostering its resources and expertise to stand up to the challenge. Al Ghurair spoke to Gulf News after his return from Japan, following the Emirates inaugural flight to Osaka early this month.

I realise that Masafi is available at the Ritz Carlton hotel, where the Emirates official delegation was staying. How did this come about?
Masafi has been thinking of introducing its products to Japan for quite sometime. The mineral water was available on the flight and in main food and beverage outlets in Japan's major cities.

Masafi has been distributed in Japan for the past year and we hope that sales in the country will grow this year, as we promote it more. A main distributor has been appointed by Masafi to ensure that the whole of Japan will be covered through sub-agents and distributors.

It is one of the most important achievements by Masafi, since its inception in 1975. We have received the nod to enter Japan by its food and health authority there, one year ago.

Receiving the approval was a very special moment for every employee in Masafi including myself, since getting such a licence in a highly competitive market like Japan will not be given unless the quality of the product is high.

Japan is one the countries that applies the highest standards on imports of goods from other parts of the world, especially on food items.

Can you elaborate on any special arrangement you have to enter the Japanese market?
You may have noticed through your visit that the Japanese market is highly competitive, especially regarding to beverages.

Japan is one country that has no concessions regarding the quality of products. From our side, there was no special arrangements, apart form sending our samples for testing and approval.
We have made special labels featuring the same design and logo of Masafi, but with one difference. Masafi and the list of ingredients were printed on the bottles and the case in the Japanese language.

We received the approval without changing anything. That means the water, which is available to consumers here is the same quality and taste of which is available to consumers in Japan.
As it is known to our customers, Masafi is natural water from the mountains of Ras Al Khaimah and we are proud of the fact that Japanese who used to buy our oil to run their cars are now buying our mineral water too.

What are you doing to expand your market share in Japan?
I admit that the quantity Masafi is selling in Japan is small compared with our ambitious targets and the production capacity of our bottling lines in the factory here. We are working hard through our main agent there to expand our market share in the new market. Japan is a vast country and very crowded. The distribution process is also difficult.

There are three levels that every product has to pass through in order to get reach end-consumers. First, the main agent or the importer; second, the wholesale distributors in different provinces and then, third, the regional distributors who are responsible of mobilising goods and putting it on shelves of different food outlets within their respective regions.

From what I have seen through my field visits to Japan, even before Emirates inaugurated its flight to Osaka, there are geographic and procedural difficulties that makes the distribution of goods very costly in Japan, compared with other parts of the world.

We will try to overcome those obstacles and I am very optimistic of the future of the product in Japan,based on the quality and the price of the product.

Why is Japan such an important market for you?
The entry into Japan has enhanced our confidence, and the confidence in our in-house quality control. We managed to obtain the approval from Japan in a record period of time with no changes or additional steps to our current production system.

I am sure that the market there will offer us a different experience that will enrich our expertise and open new horizons to products from the UAE, other than oil, to that part of the world.

Our overseas sales constitute 27 per cent of the Masafi business; the rest of our product is sold locally. We have taken huge strides in the export sector, with Masafi products being exported to GCC markets, excluding Saudi Arabia, Masafi products are also available in China, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia and Uganda.

What is your market share locally and what is your capability to increase the capacity if export surges?
We enjoy 35 to 40 per cent market share in the UAE. Masfai started production in 1976 with an output of 1,000 bottles per day. Today, we have two production lines with a total capacity of 70,000 bottles a day.

We have specialised section to look after our wells in Ras Al Khaimah, and I think we will be capable of catering to any surge in demand from any market. I know that drinking water is so rare in the UAE, but by implementing advanced techniques in the field of mineral water production, Masafi should be doing fine.