The new business partnership between the companies is effective immediately, with both companies saying the agreement will strengthen their positions in the market.
Olivia Hingray, food service sales manager UAE at Lactalis said that as the Dubai-based firm has been active in the Middle East region for more than 20 years, Chef Middle East has acquired experience and knowledge of the regional market.
“Chef Middle East’s expertise and broad client portfolio within the hotel and dining industries will be a strong driver for Lactalis in terms of exposure, resulting in higher sales performances,” Hingray said.
Benefit for both companies
Steve Pyle, CEO of Chef Middle East, said Lactalis’ extensive dairy range, with brands such as Président and Galbani, means both companies will benefit in the market.
“The Lactalis range will strengthen our existing dairy portfolio, and will increase the credibility of our dairy proposition with both existing and prospective customers,” Pyle said.
He said the new range addition will also position Chef Middle East’s pastry and bakery range as ‘the one stop solution’ for pastry professionals with the Président cream and butter range, while complementing the Italian range with Galbani cheeses.
Improvement in hotel segment
Dany Abi Khalil, general manager at Lactalis, added the company’s objective throughout the diversification of distribution for Président and Galbani brands is to improve reach in all the segments of the food service market.
“With Chef Middle East on board, we strongly believe that we will improve our presence – especially in the hotels segment,” Abi Khalil said.
Chef Middle East imports and distributes food from around the world, supplying the hotel, dining and airline industries in the Middle East.
It serves more than 1,000 customers in the UAE, Qatar and Oman, as well as to customers in the Indian Ocean region, Africa, and CIS countries.