PHOTO
07 January 2017
Joey Aguilar
Major supermarkets and hypermarkets in Qatar are witnessing an increase in demand for organic and healthy food items, particularly vegetables and fruits, each year, it is learnt.
"Our stocks of organic cucumber, zucchini and capsicum have been depleting quickly over the past year, compared to the previous years," an official of a leading supermarket told Gulf Times.
“In fact, we are planning to increase our stocks in the coming months to meet such demand,” he said, noting that they receive several requests and orders from regular customers who prefer organic produce.
With many Qatari farms now producing organic vegetables and fruits, the official expects the prices to become affordable to many consumers.
"Our bakery is also seeing a huge increase in the demand for brown and multigrain breads than white/milk breads," he pointed out.
An employee of a hypermarket concurred, saying the increasing popularity of organic produce in Qatar, as well as “healthier options” such as brown rice, brown bread and brown sugar, will benefit both consumers and businesses alike.
“The sales of brown rice and bread more than tripled in 2016 compared to 2015,” the employee noted.
Some items such as the pink salt, organic apple cider vinegar and free range eggs, known to have plenty of health benefits, are also in high demand, according to him.
Despite the price of such items being higher than ordinary table salt and vinegar, he believes that people will continue to buy these products, in view of the potential health benefits.
At another supermarket in Doha, an employee cited the growing demand for organic produce and healthy food items.
A merchandiser noted that stocks of brown rice “is moving out too fast” nowadays compared to the previous years.
“If for example, we used to sell one box a week, now we can sell two or more in some cases,” he added.
“At times, we run out of stocks for some brands of brown and raw red rice.”
An employee of a food outlet outside Doha also said there is an increasing number of customers who buy similar items, including organic fruits such as apples, as well as yogurt, cereals, oats, and olive oil, as the brands are claiming.
“In the past years, very few people chose these products, probably either due to lack of awareness or may be because of high prices. But now, we are starting to look for more suppliers,” he pointed out.
“People have become health conscious nowadays.”
Many residents also see an increasing number of popular outlets, as well as restaurants, offering purely organic items and dishes.
Joey Aguilar
Major supermarkets and hypermarkets in Qatar are witnessing an increase in demand for organic and healthy food items, particularly vegetables and fruits, each year, it is learnt.
"Our stocks of organic cucumber, zucchini and capsicum have been depleting quickly over the past year, compared to the previous years," an official of a leading supermarket told Gulf Times.
“In fact, we are planning to increase our stocks in the coming months to meet such demand,” he said, noting that they receive several requests and orders from regular customers who prefer organic produce.
With many Qatari farms now producing organic vegetables and fruits, the official expects the prices to become affordable to many consumers.
"Our bakery is also seeing a huge increase in the demand for brown and multigrain breads than white/milk breads," he pointed out.
An employee of a hypermarket concurred, saying the increasing popularity of organic produce in Qatar, as well as “healthier options” such as brown rice, brown bread and brown sugar, will benefit both consumers and businesses alike.
“The sales of brown rice and bread more than tripled in 2016 compared to 2015,” the employee noted.
Some items such as the pink salt, organic apple cider vinegar and free range eggs, known to have plenty of health benefits, are also in high demand, according to him.
Despite the price of such items being higher than ordinary table salt and vinegar, he believes that people will continue to buy these products, in view of the potential health benefits.
At another supermarket in Doha, an employee cited the growing demand for organic produce and healthy food items.
A merchandiser noted that stocks of brown rice “is moving out too fast” nowadays compared to the previous years.
“If for example, we used to sell one box a week, now we can sell two or more in some cases,” he added.
“At times, we run out of stocks for some brands of brown and raw red rice.”
An employee of a food outlet outside Doha also said there is an increasing number of customers who buy similar items, including organic fruits such as apples, as well as yogurt, cereals, oats, and olive oil, as the brands are claiming.
“In the past years, very few people chose these products, probably either due to lack of awareness or may be because of high prices. But now, we are starting to look for more suppliers,” he pointed out.
“People have become health conscious nowadays.”
Many residents also see an increasing number of popular outlets, as well as restaurants, offering purely organic items and dishes.
© Gulf Times 2017
