00:01Belgian Chocolates
00:02Italian Leather
00:05and Colombian Coffee
00:07For some products, their country of origin is also a promise of quality.
00:13Hoping to earn the same reputation, Qatar is growing something too.
00:17Qatar's next brand of success is Homegrown.
00:20The country is not only producing more of what it needs,
00:23it's building businesses with ambitions to go global.
00:27We're meeting the entrepreneurs putting Made in Qatar on the map.
00:31I'm Laila Humaira and this is Qatar in Motion.
00:37Did you know that since 2009, Qatar has held an expo solely dedicated to supporting and promoting homegrown products?
00:45The four-day Made in Qatar Expo is aimed at boosting the industrial sector
00:50and expanding investment opportunities in many others.
00:54Another initiative is the National Product Week.
00:57It showcases the country's domestic production and elevates the competitiveness of local companies.
01:05Well, among those companies, one brand is already a household name.
01:10While many in Qatar are familiar with Maserati for its poultry and dairy products,
01:15not many know that it operates several free-range farms
01:18while also being the first in the country to implement a full-cycle production system.
01:26Our farm, it's a simple name, but one that carries the meaningful weight
01:31of being one of Qatar's leading agricultural and food production companies.
01:36In just 10 years, Maserati has become a vital contributor to Qatar's food security goals.
01:43When we first started, fresh poultry accounted for only 50% of the Qatari market being produced here.
01:52We've taken that figure to almost 100%.
01:55We are a Qatari company that produces in Qatar for the Qatari market.
02:01And there's a saying we used to say and will continue to be saying.
02:07Our produce comes from the goodness of Qatar.
02:10So this gives a sense of belonging to this land.
02:14This gives a sense of nationalism for the company to have this name.
02:20After years of being Qatar's main supplier of whole and cut-up chicken,
02:25Maserati launched its free-range poultry division,
02:28including coloured eggs, to target the high-end market.
02:31The free-range is considered a more premium product.
02:35It is a niche product that has its own target customers.
02:40In Qatar, we live in a society where everyone is health-conscious,
02:45where everyone strives to get as much benefit from the food they eat as possible.
02:52Other than poultry, Maserati considers its animal feed unit and dairy unit
02:57as its two other main business pillars.
03:00The firm is Qatar's largest animal feed producer,
03:04boasting a 12-square-kilometre farm.
03:06Meanwhile, more than 4,500 Holstein cows
03:10form the backbone of the company's dairy farm.
03:16Several times a day, the cows go through what's called the milking parlor,
03:20where the work of producing fresh milk begins.
03:23As you can see, each cow is carefully milked using modern equipment
03:27where hygiene and animal welfare are at the heart of the process.
03:31It's here where tens of thousands of litres of milk is collected
03:35and prepared for its journey from this dairy farm to consumers all over Qatar.
03:42With the dairy production, our farm is located 5 kilometres from the potary farm
03:49on a 1.5-square-kilometre farm, producing almost 120 tonnes per day of dairy products.
03:55We've bought 250 cows from the U.S.
03:59that will be arriving in early November.
04:04So we're always expanding our herd.
04:07This is the third year in which we have been importing cows
04:12to try to expand our production faster and faster.
04:16All of Maserati's eight factories operate through a fully integrated system
04:22which controls every phase of food production from farm to table.
04:26It also targets a zero-waste production cycle,
04:30recycling all agricultural waste on site, the first in Qatar to do so.
04:35We've put in a sustainability initiative which was to have all the external lightings
04:41in the farms using solar power.
04:44We've reused the water that is used in the butchery operations,
04:51sticking to a treatment facility and then used for the irrigation of our farms.
04:56With the manure left over from the cows and chickens,
04:59it's also taken to its own facility to be treated and used for farming.
05:05Maserati's 10 years of operations have been challenged by what Saad calls ups and downs.
05:10But the firm hasn't let crises affect the products from reaching customers who need them.
05:15With every challenge and with every problem that gets into our way,
05:19we restructure our way of operation in order to avoid these kinds of disruptions.
05:27So we've invested in a very large stock of all materials used for operations.
05:33As long as the farm is up and running,
05:37we have no problem with continuing the same quantities of production,
05:42with the same quality and most importantly, maintaining our price of sale.
05:49Maserati has ambitions to sell its products abroad,
05:52but believes it still has a lot more to do in its home market.
05:55Still, the firm hopes the national brand stamp on the packaging of each of its products
06:01can soon reach Qataris living abroad too.
06:04We feel pride when we have the label made in Qatar in all of our products.
06:09We feel the sense of pride when we are contributing to one aspect of food security in Qatar.
06:14As a consumer, I always opt for getting Qatari-produced products.
06:20This gives a sense of pride for the country.
06:23And furthermore, this helps grow the economy,
06:27which indirectly turns back to me as a consumer.
06:33Whether it's to fill a gap in the market or a novel idea,
06:37successful enterprise often begins with a founder who dares to dream.
06:42For one entrepreneur, that dream was born from wanting to eat cleaner.
06:50Raw Me is touching everybody's lives here in the country through one way or another.
06:54And we've been part of everybody's journey here for the last 16 years.
07:01I was teaching kids after school how to be healthy physically and nutritionally.
07:08And we were looking at all the lunchboxes.
07:12And the kids were talking about whether they ate fruits or vegetables during the day.
07:16And so that's where I recognized that there was a gap in need,
07:21not only from the children's point of view, but also from the adult point of view.
07:28The concept of cold press was not in the market.
07:31So when I brought the technology here,
07:35I also had to work with the ministry and the government
07:38to help educate on what this technology does.
07:41We probably started with six signature juices.
07:45And then we grew our products, not only from cold press juices,
07:48but also for fresh cut fruits, ready to eat meals, frozen products,
07:55even bakeries and snacks and sweets and treats.
08:00And now we grew into 500 different products.
08:03We actually distribute to over 490 corporates and institutions all over the country.
08:11Some of the bigger brands, for example, is Qatar Airways.
08:15They've been a great support to us.
08:16We have multiple brands that sit under the House of Raw Middle East.
08:20And one of those brands is called Nosh Cravings.
08:22Nosh Cravings, again, falls into that ethos of what we're trying to do,
08:26which is convenience and easy, accessible food.
08:30A lot of people are shocked that it's plant-based,
08:32but that's kind of what we wanted to deliver.
08:36My parents, actually, they have entrepreneurial spirits and heart.
08:40They really instilled in us to be independent,
08:44to be able to build or create value that you can rely on.
08:50And they also told us that anything's possible.
08:53So that never stops us from being able to dream big.
08:57If I can impact one person's life, that that was key for me.
09:03And being able to even make someone and help someone feel better,
09:07that really warms my heart.
09:10It's been the highlight of my career and my life
09:12to actually meet Her Highness Sheikha Mosa during the HSC Gala events
09:18and where I was able to introduce Raw Middle East.
09:22And when she put her hand on my shoulder,
09:25it really felt comforting
09:27because she also was very encouraging to say good luck.
09:30And it really gave me kind of the motivation to keep going.
09:35The Qatari Maid brand is more than simply where it's made.
09:39It's actually about developing it, scaling it,
09:42and distributing it from here in Qatar.
09:44We should be able to be competing with international brands.
09:48And we can because we have all of the tools and equipment to make it happen.
09:53And also the level of quality and the scalability.
09:57What's next is actually exporting regionally.
10:02And really that's our main priority right now
10:05is to scale it beyond Qatar.
10:08One of the biggest ways the country is building the Made in Qatar brand
10:11is through investments.
10:13From supporting impactful initiatives abroad
10:15to attracting businesses to set up shop in Qatar.
10:19We need one company that's helping the country
10:22build its first electric vehicle factory.
10:27We are always looking for having a diversity of portfolios.
10:33So we realized that Qatar need to have a Made in Qatar products
10:38and it has to be unique.
10:40So we decided to establish the first EV factory in Qatar
10:44in partnership with VAT company.
10:47Of course, investments must create financial returns.
10:51But for us, it should also create positive economic impact.
10:55We look for projects that can create jobs,
11:00introduce new technology, improve infrastructure
11:03and support local industries.
11:06That's the idea behind JTA.
11:09We don't want to be an investor.
11:11We want to be long-term strategic partner.
11:15We are proud is a Qatari company with headquarters in Doha.
11:20We are already working toward unique projects
11:23in sport, infrastructure and tourism
11:26which we believe can create strong international connections
11:31and further support Qatar-positive image globally.
11:37From dairy and poultry products to boosting the EV industry
11:41and starting a plant-based food movement,
11:44Qatar has been building a reputable national brand
11:46one that is rooted in its economic value
11:49but measured by its impact on the market.
11:52That's all the time we have for now.
11:53Thanks for watching Qatar In Motion
11:55and see you next time.
11:56Thank you.
