The producer, which currently sells its products through Lulu supermarkets across the GCC, recently appointed its first locally-based sales representative in Kuwait, where it plans to base its first retail outlet. The firm is also looking to expand its distribution across the rest of the region, according to founder Craig Benton.
Adding more retailers
“There isn’t a country in the region we don’t deal with. Holdings in certain places, like Dubai, aren’t strong – but we are there. Now it’s about bringing it up, bringing on more retailers, spreading it throughout the region,” said Benton.
Despite its name, The London Deli Company is based in Yorkshire in the north of England, and produces a range of sweets and snack foods, including biscuits, confectionery, crisps, preserves and cakes. Benton said the firm is looking to expand into fudge, and possibly yoghurt products.
The company recently opened a new 550 square metre distribution centre in the UK, to facilitate its growing operations. It sources its products from five factories in Britain, with all of its 31 products designed by and exclusive to the brand.
Benton founded the company four years ago, when he saw a market for British-branded products in the region: “Visiting friends and family every year in the Middle East, I realised there was a big potential to bring out produce from across Yorkshire and places like that, which the Middle East would never even see, and cottage industries would never get out there.
“If we could drip feed bits into the Middle East, it would go very well. And then I thought, why not develop a brand specific to the market? Anything London, anything with a Union Jack on, anything high-quality from the UK would sell well. It was a fantastic opportunity – so I thought, go for it,” he added.
Starting life as The London Jam Company, the firm quickly broadened its scope, partly due to Benton’s realisation the firm couldn’t expand its jam production while maintaining quality. With an expanded range, the company signed a deal with Lulu starting in Kuwait, and the rest, according to Benton, “snowballed”.
Hardest market in the world
As to his decision to start in Kuwait, Benton said this was partly due to his contacts in the country, and also to do with the high levels of consumer spending there. And while the market is very challenging for importers, this came to be an advantage for the company.
“It’s the hardest country in the world to get into. Some say Saudi is the hardest, but with strict regulations, no alcohol and everything else. I didn’t actually know that at the time! A year into it I thought, this is very hard – and then someone said, you do know it’s the hardest. Well, if I can crack this, I can crack anywhere in the world,” said Benton.
In addition to the Middle East, The London Deli company also distributes its products to Harrods in London, as well as markets such as China and the Far East. Benton is now looking at distribution agreements with airlines and hotels in the Middle East, along with his retail plans.