When and why did you develop the idea to set up Appetite?
We recognised how it was impossible to buy a delicious high quality sandwich off-the-shelf in Dubai and this gap in the market spurred us on to create the Appetite concept.
What challenges did you meet in setting up the business?
It took months to find premises, but eventually we found a location in Qusais. We transformed the site ourselves as contractors were not interested in our small venture; we were mere small fry to them. Subsequently, we had to find the right suppliers. Our status as a fledgling new business, requiring small quantities meant this was a challenge for us. We started with just two staff and so we also wore all hats, making deliveries, buying goods, cooking cleaning and managing the accounts ourselves.
What is the philosophy behind your brand and food?
It's simple - we are dedicated to making fresh, delicious food. Our work ethic is to constantly improve our recipes, striving for the best in all areas. Customers rely on our consistency and dedication to quality.
Explain the Dubai snack food and catering markets.
There is a deficit in high quality, reasonably priced foods in Dubai and we aim to fill this gap. Corporate catering is also a rapidly expanding market for us. We do not advertise, we grow via recommendations from one customer to another. We are expanding our catering department and believe it will grow significantly in the next couple of years.
With a broad range of nationalities in Dubai, how do you cater for all palates?
Catering for all tastes would be difficult in this multi-cultural city. We remain faithful to our food range and our philosophy. We have experienced occasions where the potential money earned has made deals tempting, but we never want to forfeit the quality and care invested in our food for a mass contract. Retrospectively, these were the correct decisions.
With rates of obesity rising in the Middle East, how important is healthy food to Appetite? What responsibility does the food industry have towards addressing this problem?
We create a range of food, encompassing healthy, low fat options as well as the less calorie conscious products. We use light mayonnaise and grill our meats, but ultimately we believe it is the consumer's responsibility to look after their own nutrition and health. However, food manufacturers are responsible for correctly labelling the nutritional values on products so consumers can make informed choices. We are working on providing this information for all of our products in the coming months.