Bahrain’s industry is getting a boost from the food sector with the news that the kingdom is about to export fresh, vacuum-packed halal cold cuts, starting with the UAE.

The range, bearing the catchy brand name of Greedy Goose, is perhaps one of the most unusual items to venture out of the country and into overseas supermarkets.  But Airplate, which is producing the product as a joint venture between Bahrain Airport Services (BAS) and Eatcorp, is not surprised the brand is moving into new territory and into what it’s sure will be a successful future.

“We wanted to produce locally made fresh cold cuts as opposed to importing them. We have created national pride over the success of Greedy Goose,” Airplate director Faisal Khalid Kanoo has said.

“It showcases our capabilities and high-quality standards, and our products are everywhere in the kingdom. I don’t know a supermarket that doesn’t have us on their shelves,” he added.

The German touch
Greedy Goose is a combination of opportunity, culinary talent available at BAS’ catering department and managerial skills. Importantly, it has the very special German touch of Wolfgang Gortler, who devised the recipe and masterminded the production process.

Gortler, whom Kanoo described as the “Godfather’ of Greedy Goose, is a director of Airplate and senior manager at BAS Catering, where he has been serving over the past six years. He has been in the catering and hospitality business for four decades with postings across the globe including Brazil.

Having imbibed the high standards of food culture from his native Germany and with long experience to his credit, the promoters were confident the brand could not have been in safer hands.

What followed was a range of carefully developed items that have proved very successful over more than a year since Greedy Goose was launched. Coming out of Greedy Goose’s kitchens at the BAS catering complex are tasty treats including smoked salmon, smoked chicken breast, peppered and plain pastrami beef and smoked duck with skinless options for the health conscious.

Quintessential flavour

The company processes locally available meat and ensures the quintessential flavor is retained as much as possible. Simple, harmless preservatives such as salt are used, and as the meats are not frozen, consistency is assured. The BAS catering facility’s laboratory has a strict regimen of tests, both for ingredients and finished products to determine whether they meet health and hygiene standards.   Once processed, the cuts are tucked into locally sourced packaging containing brief recipes printed on it as a help.  Gortler has made sure the printing on the packets is attractive and clear to consumers.

The company uses vacuum packing and slicing machines from Germany and smoking equipment from Austria.

Greedy Goose first won acceptance from airlines flying to global destinations and was later placed in the supermarkets of Bahrain, where it also passed the test, winning admirers and a regular clientele.

Having passed the test from both these sectors, Airplate wondered if the time was not ripe to spread its wings. When the word got out, a major UAE supermarket sampled the products and expressed its desire to put Greedy Goose on its shelves.

It will only be a matter of time when the first export shipments are made to the UAE, says BAS’ chief marketing and business development officer Sadek Ebrahim.

“As well as excelling in the taste department, Greedy Goose is halal certified (permitted by Islamic law for consumption by Muslims) and will be welcomed in the Middle East,” said Ebrahim.

 Enquiries have also come from Britain, and Gortler says it is possible there might be interest in other European markets in course of time. Exports to the West, where the cold cuts culture is well-entrenched, would be like taking the proverbial coals to Newcastle but Greedy Goose is well poised to gain acceptance.   The fact that the brand is comparable to the best and there are large Muslim settlements in the West gives it an advantage.

A ‘niche’ product

“We didn’t want a bottomline product,” says Gortler discussing Greedy Goose’s evolution and prospects. “This will be a niche product. There will be a market for it and a demand for it. We knew we had a fresh and natural product and we wanted to keep it just like that. We meet a lot of standards in quality, health and safety.

“What is driving us is our desire to be the best in the industry. We get appreciation from airlines which operate to all parts of the world and we’re proud of that.”

To that, Ebrahim adds that the Greedy Goose production lines echo the best practices and principles followed in other lines of BAS Catering and in BAS’ other operations such as traffic, cargo, engineering and maintenance, lounge operations and the Engineering Academy.

BAS’ catering department prepares 165 different menus daily, produces 20-25,000 meals per day for airlines and develops new products from time to time, one of which was Greedy Goose. Whatever emerges from BAS catering lines is subjected to random checks, inspection and audits by airlines.

Expectations
Within that vigorous atmosphere, the company expects Greedy Goose to grow 400 per cent in the next six months. The company currently delivers 8,000 to 10,000 packets monthly and is looking at exporting 40,000 to 50,000 packets every month by the end of this year.

Just how did Greedy Goose get its name? As Gortler reveals: “We wanted a name that was a bit unusual, something people would remember – a name one could not mess around with.” The brand retains its English form even in Arabic texts, making it easily recognisable across the board.

An important consideration at BAS’s production lines is sustainability and cost-effectiveness. “If you compare the meals of 20 years ago and now, you’ll see there is now a focus on health foods. Machines too are much more efficient,” says Gortler.

“Again, if we compare the present time to the situation a few years ago, we at BAS use 25 per cent less energy in cooking equipment and try to reduce that level even further. Our dish washers, which run practically the whole day, use 20 per cent less water and 20 per cent less energy. Our light fittings, chillers and freezers are built to keep energy levels down and cash savings high.

“We did away with conveyor belts and also the staff that was needed to attend to them. This also meant generating savings in maintenance and repairs.”

Such efforts are helping BAS become more cost-effective and competitive in its field. A beneficiary of that approach could be Greedy Goose as it plunges into the ever-tough international market.