Dubai-based food chain major Blackspoon, owner of Allo Beirut, is firming plans for an ambitious regional and global expansion, buoyed by the faster growth recovery in the food and beverage (f&b) sector.
The ethnic Indian and the Lebanese street food specialty chain is also exploring opportunities for partnerships and acquisitions – both regionally and globally – to boost its proposed expansion.
“We have plans to expand regionally and globally. The immediate regional expansion would include launching our first Lebanese street food restaurant chain Allo Beirut in Abu Dhabi, besides opening one more outlet of it in Dubai by September this year,” Charbel Mhanna, chief executive officer of Blackspoon, told Arabian Business.
“[Launch of] two more in the pipeline will follow,” he said.
Mhanna, however, did not reveal details of Blackspoon’s global expansion plans as it is still under finalisation.
Blackspoon operates award-winning restaurant chain brands such as Blue Seafood Asia, Masti, Bombay Bungalow, Allo Beirut and Ibn Albahr across Dubai.
It also operates a cloud kitchen brand called House of Curry, popular for its ‘Biryani Buckets’.
Bombay Bungalow and Masti got entry into the Dubai Michelin Guidebook 2022 recently, while Ibn AlBahr was awarded the Bib Gourmand Mention for Dubai 2022.
On the plans for partnerships to achieve faster expansion, Mhanna said: “We are open to new business proposals locally, regionally and globally which are in the interest of our company’s growth.”
Mhanna, however, said the company has no plans to have brand ambassadors for a major marketing push to support its expansion plans.
“All our respective brands are unique among themselves as each outlet is known for its exclusive offerings such as Indian food, Lebanese street food and seafood.
“This, coupled with our many years of presence, has helped us to be among the most preferred ones by all the residents and tourists in the UAE,” Mhanna said.
Blackspoon’s move on an aggressive expansion comes in the wake of market reports about a high growth phase for the food and beverage sector in the UAE.
The sector is projected to see a compound annual growth rate of 6.8 percent during 2022-2027, according to Mordor Intelligence.
The trend of an increasing number of expats settling into the region, high disposable earnings, increasing influx of tourists, urban lifestyles, foreign investment opportunities and the ever-changing tastes in customer’s food habits are cited as the major drivers for this growth.
UAE is also among very few countries to have seen a rapid recovery of the f&b sector because of its efficient handling of the Covid pandemic.
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