Gourmet Gulf, the UAE-based food and beverage retail company, is bringing Morelli’s Gelato - the ‘Rolls Royce’ of ice-cream parlours to the UAE.
The brand, which operates a signature outlet in London’s premier Knightsbridge Harrods Department Store, will see its flagship GCC franchise open at Dubai Festival City - the ‘city-within-a-city’ being built on the banks of Dubai Creek. “Dubai with its up-market reputation and increasingly cosmopolitan population and visitor base is a superb fit for the expansion of the Morelli brand overseas,” said Bibi Morelli, managing director, Morelli’s Gelato. Morelli’s will be one of two outlets Gourmet Gulf is planning to open on Dubai Festival City’s Canal Walk later this year – the other will be the company’s existing franchise Yo! Sushi, the conveyor belt sushi concept. Unlike most other ice-cream brands, Morelli’s produce their ice-cream fresh, on-site, every day in the traditional artisan Italian method – and have been doing so since 1907. “The acquisition of the Morelli’s brand to the Gourmet Gulf portfolio is a key component in the company’s expansion strategy which will see it operate all across the GCC and in North Africa and the Levant in the coming five years,” said Sami Daud, managing director, Gourmet Gulf. “It is our intention to become a premier food and beverage supplier operating hi-end brands to a superior quality level and to pioneer new brands within the region.”