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Founded by food enthusiast Sam Jacobi, the ideas behind the Al’Fez brand were heavily influenced by his childhood growing up in the Middle East.
“Picture a bustling souk in the heart of Jerusalem’s Arab quarter in the 1970s. As a child, I would experience all of the colourful aromas and tastes of simple yet amazingly delicious foods. I will never forget sitting in one of the many traditional cafes enjoying freshly made houmous generously drizzled with the richest Jordanian olive oil and served alongside freshly baked bread.”
Al’Fez (which translates from Arabic as ‘The Hat’) was officially launched in 2001 and within a short space of time was listed in several well-known shops in London and the surrounding area. ABF acquired the brand in 2019 in response to growing consumer interest in the rich and aromatic flavours of traditional Middle Eastern foods.
As with similar acquisitions, ABF has benefitted enormously from the founder’s, in this case Sam’s, ongoing involvement in developing the Al’Fez brand as part of our AB World Foods business, which also manages Patak’s and Blue Dragon. Under AB World Foods’ stewardship, we have grown the brand by drawing upon our existing specialist production and commercial management expertise, which includes a direct presence in multiple international markets.
While Al’Fez products such as tahini, houmous and harissa are still sold by many of the original stockists, over the past two years AB World Foods has optimised the packaging design and range for distribution through many more of the larger grocery retail channels as well. As a result, we have grown sales by significantly expanding the presence of Al’Fez products in larger supermarket chains both in the UK and internationally, including several EU countries, the US and Canada. The quality of Al’Fez products has been recognised externally, with our harissa paste recently being awarded a prestigious 2 star Great Taste Award in August 2022, the only harissa paste to be rated so highly.
Al’Fez is a great example of ABF nurturing a vibrant food brand that adds interest to mealtimes by inspiring people to explore the incredible flavours of the world. A perfect complement to our grocery portfolio!