The Business Year

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Mohamed Suhail Al Shanfari

CEO, A’Saffa Foods SAOG

Didier Gabriel

Country Head, BRF Sadia

The growing demand for higher quality food products in Oman has meant the poultry market has been working hard to remain innovative while ensuring the highest standards.
What have been some of the company’s major highlights in the past year?

MOHAMED SUHAIL AL SHANFARI A’Saffa Foods SAOG was established in 2001 as a public listed company in Oman. A’Saffa started its commercial production in 2004 with 10,000 metric tons, and we now have 42,000 metric tons of production capacity of fresh and frozen poultry products. A’Saffa poultry farms are located on a 50sqkm area in Thumrait. Since the beginning, we have focused on quality, which is why we have consumers’ trust and confidence in our products. We have a full range of fresh and frozen chicken products. In addition, we have a subsidiary company A’Saffa Food Processing LLC that produces 4,500 metric tons of processed chicken and meat products. We have the potential and ability to control everything from the beginning until the final product and maintain high standards.

DIDIER GABRIEL The world’s largest poultry exporter, BRF is present in over 140 countries and owns iconic brands, such as Sadia, Perdigão and Qualy. In the Middle East since 1970s, our main brand, Sadia, is the market leader in the chicken category and is recognized as the most preferred brand in the region, a true testimonial on how close to consumers it is. In the GCC markets, BRF Sadia operates following a “farm to table” approach with a fully integrated value chain, offering a wide range of quality products comprising whole chicken, chicken parts and ready to prepare products. BRF Sadia Oman is the leader in frozen products across the Sultanate, offering a variety of high-quality products suitable for a vast array of consumers.

What competitive advantages and strengths do you bring to the market?

MSAS A’Saffa believes in quality, which is how we achieved the Premium brand status. A’Saffa is continuously working to produce high-quality products and remain as a premium brand. Our culture is extremely important to us. Keeping halal products is the main driver and using 100% natural fodder (corn and soy) as the main raw materials, without any animal proteins gives us another advantage. Our standard process on our farm is no different from top producers worldwide; in fact, we have even become a reference for other regional suppliers. A’Saffa is the fully integrated poultry project. We started producing hatching eggs on our farm. We have a breeder farm, hatchery, broiler farm, feed mill, slaughterhouse, HSE lab, and a maintenance workshop. There is absolutely no outsourcing. We control the entire process.

DG We bring a few competitive advantages to the market that allow us to clearly demarcate Sadia from competition. One is our global and regional presence as well as being in Oman for several decades and loved by Omanis ever since. Sadia is available in all GCC countries and in many countries in the world, making it easier to be adopted by people when they move countries. Then, in terms of our high-quality standards: since our products are all frozen, and most of our sales comes from uncooked product, it is crucial for us to ensure that the cold chain and quality of our products are always at the highest standards. Most importantly, our biggest competitive advantage is R&D and our consumer insights department, which allows us to sustain our success. Our team is constantly listening to consumers, analyzing trends and taking corrective actions when needed.

How are you incorporating best practices into your business strategy?

MSAS We must maintain excellent biosecurity to secure our business. We are situated in a strategic location with no other activities around us, which means we have not experienced any threats of contagious diseases outbreaks because we adhere to high-quality standards. We are strict in our quality checks and vaccination programs. These have also continued to improve in the last 10 years growth. We have also brought in digital equipment to improve our product quality. We are at almost zero waste. Also, we have a water treatment unit to treat all the wastewater coming from the slaughterhouse and other facilities.

How big of a role does innovation play in the company’s operations?

DG Innovation is absolutely key for BRF Sadia when it comes to launching new product offering that are answering consumer needs. But innovation does not stop at portfolio for us. Communication wise, we have been spending quality time to understand better the consumer behaviors and how they consume media and what their expectations are. Most of the communication budget we spend in Oman is focused on the digital and social media realm, where we can build a close connection with our consumers, engage in a two-way conversation with them and understanding their expectations.

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