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The spice is right for the island’s Asian community as a new supermarket has opened concentrating on the tastes and products its members once enjoyed back home.
Al Adil Supermarket, located on the ground floor of the Yateem Centre, recently opened its doors after Bahraini businessman, Noaman Shaikh, urged his partners from the UAE to back his love of the kingdom after they voiced concerns over the island’s recent unrest.
Mr Shaikh, Al Adil Supermarket’s managing director, said: “I initially met my partners in Dubai five-years-ago but unfortunately it did not happen then. After 2011, in terms of business, everyone seemed to take a two-year pause to see how Bahrain was going to grow. Also, Al Adil group was busy expanding over in the UAE.
“When I first met them, they just had four outlets and today Al Adil has 30 supermarkets in the UAE alone. They soon realised there was a flood of demand further afield to address.
“When Al Adil was ready to expand outside the UAE, the Kingdom of Bahrain was its first choice and, in my opinion, surely the right choice. Bahrain has superseded all expectations.
“I think Bahrain is a great market for any business and Al Adil is a great addition to the island’s retail choice. Its owners are wonderful people that have accomplished great things. I believe Bahrain is an ideal market for their business model.
“I knew in my heart the expat population would love the variety of items we specialise in.”
Launching the store was a step back in time for Mr Shaikh as his late father Ahmed was a well-known local trader with six outlets in Bahrain. When he passed away seven years ago, his son did not have the heart to continue in the business straight away but was determined that the family name would return to the retail scene one day in the future.
Mr Shaikh said: “I was stuck to my dad like glue since I was 11-years-old. I studied business in Canada because I wanted to help grow the family business.
“When he passed away, emotionally I was drained and distanced myself from the business. I was tired and missed him a lot. We used to sit together at work in our own special place. It was hard being at the office where we spent such wonderful quality time together. I knew I had to leave it but I promised my sister that I would return to the food business some day.
“My sister, who now lives in Abu Dhabi, told me about Al Adil. She said it reminded her of our father’s business. I had to look into it and I’m really glad I did.”
The store in Manama features more than 12,000 shelved items including a wide range of spices and spices mix, pickles, over 60 types of rice, 82 kinds of flour, dry fruits, cleaning and beauty products as well as stainless-steel cookery utensils.
One of Al Adil’s major brands is Peacock and it includes all types of popular food products imported straight from India. Al Adil is a certified 100 per cent pure vegetarian store and has received certification from Union Vegetarian International.
Mr Shaikh said: “We are trying to provide the uniqueness of Indian sub-continent food with the widest range under one roof. We aim to be a one-stop ingredients shop.
“The spices we have are great to use with Bahraini cuisine as well as Indian dishes. It’s really for anyone who likes a little spice and flavour in their food. We also make our own fresh flour and have a warehouse in Hidd.”
Al Adil Trading Company is owned by Dr Dhananjay Datar, popularly known as the Masala King, ranked 14th in the top-50 list of richest Indians in the Gulf with a total net worth of $650 million (BD245,050,002). He plans to open 10 supermarkets in Bahrain alone and, according to Mr Shaikh, he has his sights set on expanding to neighbouring Saudi Arabia as well.
Mr Shaikh said: “We will, Inshallah, expand to Saudi Arabia and that will be under my jurisdiction but it will take at least around a year-and-a-half to sort. Besides, we want to further expand in Bahrain first.”
