Baladna continues to expand immensely both on a national and an international level.
Leading dairy and food manufacturer, Baladna, has signed a major manufacturing arrangement with the world’s largest cheese and snack company, The Bel Group.
The partnership will see the manufacturing of cheese in The Laughing Cow jars starting in 2023 and Baladna creating more Bel Group items in the near future.
Manufacturing well-known goods by global companies like Bel not only lowers imports and lessens the susceptibility of the food in supermarkets to supply chain disruptions, but it also gives Qatari consumers a more responsible, ecologically conscientious option.
The move will spike the number of premium dairy products rise in Qatar and provide customers with even more high-quality offerings, Malcolm Jordan, CEO of Baladna said. Baladna is dedicated to assist Qatar’s attempts to sustain its food supply as a major dairy brand, he noted.
“We are excited to benefit from Bel Group’s unparalleled know-how as we look to expand our range of dairy products and make international brands more accessible in the Qatari market. We believe this partnership will have a positive impact on the dairy industry in Qatar and improve consumer choices,” Jordan expressed.
The Bel Group, which has origins in the cheese industry dating back to 1865, is perhaps best recognised in this area for the well-known Jibnet Abu Walad cheese. With products sold in close to 120 countries, its main international brands include The Laughing Cow, Kiri, Babybel, Boursin, Nurishh, Pom’Potes, and GoGo squeeZ.
“The Bel Group is deeply committed to making our products accessible to new consumers and building sustainable partnerships with local producers around the world,” said Garo Matossian, CEO of BEL for Near & Middle East.
This agreement will enable both sides to rapidly expand dairy business in the area by fusing their experience with Bel’s delectable cream cheese and its knowledge of cheese products, Matossian added.
On Thursday, Baladna and Bel Group’s manufacturing agreement will be in full force.
As a wholly Qatari-owned business, Baladna seeks to offer the Qatari market high-quality and locally sourced products.
The dairy business has already-existent shipments of its juice and dairy goods to countries within the region, including Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Oman.
Baladna investments
Baladna increased its ownership stake in Egypt’s Juhayna Food Industries in May 2022 to 10.1%, in a deal worth QAR 2.5 million.
The 100%-owned Qatari firm purchased 1.4 million shares in Juhayna, bringing the total investment in the latter to QAR 139 million, according to the Qatar Stock Exchange.
Baladna signed an agreement in February last year to produce dairy products in the Philippines.
The project is expected to increase the Philippines’ local milk production by 120 million litres. This is a significant jump from their current 26.71 million litres.
In August 2021, the big Qatari firm signed a deal to produce dairy products in Malaysia.
Baladna agreed with Malaysia’s state-owned FELCRA Berhad and agriculture giant FGV Holdings to produce 100 million litres of milk yearly.
The agreement was set to create a dairy herd of 10,000 high-yielding milking cows, double the production of Malaysian fresh milk within two years (from the time of signing), and use the joint venture farm to support small rural farms through enabling them to build cattle fattening and animal feed farms by 2024.
Baladna continues to expand immensely both on a national and an international level. This comes after the 2017 GCC crisis shifted the Gulf country’s production objectives, prompting it to prioritise national production.
The company owns more than 24,000 Holstein cows on its 2.6 million square-meter facility with 40 state of the art barns. It produces about 450 tons of fresh milk and juice products daily.
