UAE: World's first camel milk chocolates going global

Record ID: 533098

  • Title: UAE: World's first camel milk chocolates going global
  • Date: 30th July 2009
  • Summary: DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (JULY 29, 2009) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CAMELS IN CAMEL FARM IN SUNRISE CAMEL HERDER FEEDING CAMELS VARIOUS OF CAMELS FEEDING VARIOUS OF CAMEL BEING MILKED VARIOUS OF AL NASSMA CHOCOLATIER GENERAL MANAGER MARTIN VAN ALMSICK WITH CAMEL EXTERIOR CAMEL FARM SIGN READING ''CAMELICIOUS'' (SOUNDBITE) (English) AL NASSMA CHOCOLATIER GENERAL MANAGER MARTIN VAN ALMSICK SAYING: ''For the camel milk chocolate, we're using the finest honeys, vanillas, and of course we want to have a classy chocolate only sold in classy places, like the Burj al Arab for instance, seven star hotel, in very high ranking, high profile distribution outlets. This is how we're going to enter the market, we get a lot of demand from all over the world, the United States, Europe, Japan, which surprised us a lot, I must say but we don't have any objections to selling our chocolates overseas." COCOA BEANS VARIOUS OF AL NASSMA CHOCOLATE BARS ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) AL NASSMA CHOCOLATIER GENERAL MANAGER MARTIN VAN ALMSICK SAYING: ''Everything started with the existence of this farm. This is the first time that a camel milk farm has been intentionally built up to be a dairy farm, to produce modern, 21st century camel milk. That was three years back, and eventually the chocologists came in, mainly George Hochleitner from Austria, and now we're producing a great chocolate out of a great milk." VARIOUS OF MELTED CHOCOLATE BEING POURED INTO POT
  • Embargoed: 14th August 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Industry,Light / Amusing / Unusual / Quirky
  • Reuters ID: LVA5U69ZVEH376AO0MH8SIMSB319
  • Story Text: Dubai's Al Nassma, the world's first brand of chocolate made with camels' milk, is in talks to expand into new Arab markets, Europe, Japan and the United States.
    Al Nassma General Manager Martin Van Almsick said the United Arab Emirates company planned to enter Saudi Arabia first, followed by Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United States within the next few months.
    "For the camel milk chocolate, we're using the finest honeys, vanillas, and of course we want to have a classy chocolate only sold in classy places, like the Burj al Arab for instance, seven star hotel, in very high ranking, high profile distribution outlets," said Van Almsick.
    "This is how we're going to enter the market, we get a lot of demand from all over the world, the United States, Europe, Japan, which surprised us a lot, I must say but we don't have any objections to selling our chocolates overseas," he added.
    Al Nassma is also in talks with British department store Harrods and San Francisco's Chocolate Covered to sell its products.
    Founded and owned by Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Al Nassma was formally established in October last year and aims to produce 100 tonnes of premium camel milk chocolate a year.
    ''Everything started with the existence of this farm. This is the first time that a camel milk farm has been intentionally built up to be a dairy farm, to produce modern, 21st century camel milk. That was three years back, and eventually the chocologists came in, mainly George Hochleitner from Austria, and now we're producing a great chocolate out of a great milk'', said Van Almsick.
    In partnership with Austrian chocolate maker Manner, Al Nassma manufactures the end product at its Dubai facility.
    With 3,000 camels on its Dubai farm, the company sells chocolates through its farm-attached store as well as in luxury hotels and private airlines. It plans to launch an online shopping facility within a month, Van Almsick said.
    The company is set to open its second store in the UAE in one of Dubai's large malls and is in talks with mall operator Majid Al Futtaim, he said.
    Al Nassma is also looking at the possibility of setting up a store in Japan, where demand for the product is high.
    ''The difference between camel milk and cow milk chocolate, is the level from the fat from the camel and the cow milk. Because the cow milk, when we are producing normal chocolate it's 26.5% fat level inside, and we have on the camel milk, we have 10, 11 %,'' said al Nassma Chocolatier Ergun Demir.
    Camels' milk is seen as healthier than cows' milk, containing five times more vitamin C, less fat, less lactose and more insulin, making it a good option for diabetics and the lactose intolerant.
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