One of the north’s oldest continuously operating companies is growing its Middle East business following a unique partnership in Qatar.
Now Co Armagh-based oat producer White’s Oats - which has been successfully trading in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region for more than 15 years - will exhibit later this month at the world’s largest food expo, Gulfood, in the Dubai World Trade Centre.
White’s Oats, founded 182 years ago, has reported a strong trading performance in GCC territories, with turnover now at £250,000 following its appointment last year by Qatar Quality Products (QPP), one of Qatar’s largest retail and distribution companies.
Over the past 12 months it has continued to build on its existing UK consolidator business and further develop sales in Qatar of its full range of branded porridge oats and granola.
White’s will be heading to Gulfood from February 19-23 as part of a team from Invest NI to launch a series of new products within its ready-to-eat range and new granolas and instant porridge pots as it plans to double its turnover in the region to £500,000.
Mark Gowdy, commercial director at the company, said: “White’s Oats is keen to not only expand its growing export base but promote Northern Ireland as a world class food region.
“As the world’s largest food expo, Gulfood is the perfect platform to strengthen our long-term strategic partnerships and further bolster our growth in the GCC region.
“With the launch of our new ready to eat granolas and instant porridge pots, we continue to not only expand our offering but also invest in our brand reach across the Middle East which offers huge potential to grow our export sales.”
He added: “The Northern Ireland food and drink sector has an unrivalled reputation for quality and traceability, and as a market leader in oats this remains the cornerstone of our 182-year heritage.
“We know that working collaboratively with our growers enables a fully traceable supply chain delivering exceptional quality and taste, which our partners in the GCC region highly value.
“We look forward to continuing to foster those relationships and build new trading relationships in the GCC territories by supplying them with the highest quality award winning oat cereals.”
