EXECUTIVE INTERVIEWS > PUBLIC SECTOR
Delivering Quality Brands
We interview Hassan Abdelhalim, Business Development Manager at Araak, to learn more about the history of the organization and their drive to succeed to become one of Sudan’s leading conglomerate.
Araak has its humble beginnings in the 1960s when our founder and chairman, Hassan Ibrahim Malik, started a successful trading company focused on agricultural commodities, followed by a stint in hospitality with Araak Hotel and coupled with his overarching passion to build; he introduced the first living communities in Sudan as early as the 1970s. Araak our name is derived from the tree that grows predominately in Sudan and has a number of religious, medicinal and herbal uses, namely the source of miswak, to us it represents growth and utility was the name for our hotel, the first local 5 star hotel in Sudan. Our focus on food and beverage started in the 1980s and that has been the organization’s main focus since, initially with Pepsi and then their associated products as well as our own brand of water, juice and energy drink. This went further in the early 2000s with the commissioning of Wheata flour mills with a current capacity of 2000 tons per day, it is considered one of the larger producers in the market. Finally, and more recently we ventured into the food franchise businesses of KFC & Pizza Hut and distributorships of KraftHeinz, Lays and Friesland Campina.
Building brands is really the biggest challenge any business faces, it is the catalyst of growth, if there was a simple answer I would not have it. In short there are a few underlying drivers of Pepsi bottling plant Wheata Flour Mills success, the product, the quality and consistency and the availability if a magic balance between those three factors is achieved in a cost effective manner, you just have to amplify with advertising. But to answer your question, continuous improvement.
Yes, I am sure all your readers are well aware of the economic challenges Sudan has endured since succession of South Sudan in 2010. Araak City was a successful venture and a project close to the hearts of those who lead our organization, as Sudan moves forward we will look for opportunities in this field as well as completing Araak City which was only phase 1 completed. The company did not limit itself to being a developer but also invested in the infrastructure around that, an example Hollow Core a pre cast and roof slab facility which expedites construction timelines, we would look to expand these also.
We take great pride in knowing that we currently recycle the equivalent of what we consume in plastics in our beverage business, therefore leaving a ‘zero’ net impact on the environment we operate in. The recycled product is all exported and larger used in the fabrics industries in far east Asia. “we currently recycle the equivalent of what we consume in plastics in our beverage business, therefore leaving a ‘zero’ net impact on the environment we operate in“
We worked tirelessly with our partners at KFC and Pizza Hut to provide Sudanese consumers with a brand standard experience, to exceed their expectations with product quality and customer experience. Without compromising on those core principles we have focused on cost saving initiatives and passed that on to the consumer mostly by localizing as much of our supply chain as possible.
Whilst we know we are significantly cheaper than similar products abroad our core focus has been on delivering those products to our market with our market conditions in mind. It is ok to be cheap compared to neighboring countries but you have to be affordable to your home market.
Our business has been focused on industry and food manufacturing in particular and we will continue to invest in that sector. Whether it be in new channels within beverage or flour and new product ranges within the wider food and beverage offerings.
Sudan Business Magazine
