Poultry producer launches halal subsidiary

Dubai-based One Foods Holdings planned to expand BRF’s influence into Muslim markets in countries such as Saudi Arabia and The United Arab Emirates (UAE).

BRF claimed it controlled 45% of the poultry market share in these countries.

BRF ceo Pedro Faria said: “By creating a local company to consolidate our operations in Islamic markets, we moved further up the production chain to get closer to our consumers, which should support the accelerated growth of One Foods.”​ 

Replace Sadia Halal​

One Foods will replace BRF’s previous subsidiary Sadia Halal and will absorb its portfolio of products, including the Sadia Brand.

“If you ask ​[consumers] which is the number one halal food brand in the Middle East, the answer is Sadia,”​ claimed Faria.

“This is a fantastic asset that shows how close we are to consumers and just how confident they are in the quality and origin of our products.”​

BRF general manager in the Middle East and North Africa Patricio Rohner is to lead the new business unit.

He added: “One Foods already operates in more than 40 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and Asia. ​

‘Forge closer relationships’​

“Its goal is to accelerate the transition process and forge closer relationships with consumers in all its markets, by replicating the leadership it has attained in the Middle East through its brands, distribution, integrated chain, low costs and high-quality and innovative products.”​

The subsidiary’s operations are fully integrated, added Faria, which gave One Foods an advantage over other producers in terms of its production costs.

BRF was founded in 2009, following a merger of Brazillian food manufacturers Sadia and Perdigão. In 2015 BRF processed 1.7bn birds and had revenues of £11.45bn.

It employs 105,000 employees globally and has 54 factories in seven countries, including the UK, The Netherlands and the UAE.