The organic food and beverages market is quite simply booming, rising from an already impressive value of $57.2 billion in 2010, to an estimated $104.5 billion by 2015.There are thought to be about two million certified organic farmers in 164 countries, using 37.5 million hectares of land, with consumers in the US, Germany and France leading rest of the world, despite the highest number of producers coming from India, Uganda, Mexico and Tanzania.
And while the UAE may not be leading the way in either consumption or production, there is an increasingly strong organic movement taking shape, with farms and shops gaining favour among buyers.
One of the companies leading the organic charge in the Emirates is Ripe – a provider of fresh, local and seasonal organic fruit and vegetables, which also happens to host one of the most talked about markets in Dubai.
Having debuted, and quickly grown, during the cooler months of 2013, the food, arts, and crafts market returns in October, moving from its previous location at Safa Park, to its new home in Zabeel Park – under the patronage of Dubai Crown Prince, HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, no less.
The business was founded in 2011 by Becky Balderstone, after she found it difficult to get hold of boxes of fresh produce in the same way she could back home in the UK.
She says: “I decided to launch Ripe when I found I couldn’t source seasonal, organic and local, fresh produce boxes here, like I could in the UK and elsewhere.
“Because my husband works in agriculture, I knew there was an abundance of local UAE farms, growing great produce, but no specific retail outlet for organic fruits and veggies. So we launched Ripe.”
Starting out with a range of Ripe boxes, full of seasonal items, the business has since grown.
Balderstone explains: “Now the Ripe Box is just one part of our business. We offer a whole range of local, organic fruits and veggies; we have opened our own retail space – the Ripe Farm Shop in Al Manara; we offer online order, home delivery and pick-up from collection points; we run the UAE’s leading community event – the Ripe Food & Craft Market; and we have implemented our Raising with Ripe community initiative.
“It has grown a lot, and that has been down to us as a company, setting achievable objectives to ensure consistent growth and manageable goals for the entire Ripe team. We manage our own expectations, so anything else we achieve is a bonus.”
The young company’s success can be linked to a growing awareness of organic food throughout the region – something that, somewhat paradoxically, Ripe has been instrumental in developing.
Figures in 2013 showed that there are 39 organic farms in the UAE, covering 3,920 hectares (up from 218 hectares in 2007) and producing more than 60 different crops including tomatoes, cucumbers, aubergines, carrots, various greens, apples, lemons, and much more.
Increasingly, dairy products such as milk and cheese, as well as eggs and honey are becoming available.
“One of the biggest things I noticed when we started Ripe is that people just didn’t know about the amazing organic produce that farms in the UAE could provide,” says Balderstone.
“I think that Ripe has been a strong part of changing that perception and we are proud to be educating the community, both local and expat, about the amazing stuff growing in the ground here.
“Ripe is very much a community orientated business so we always want to educate people about healthy food choices and the benefits of organic fruits and veggies.”
The market, which closed for the summer months, returns on Friday, 10 October, offering not just Ripe products but the goods of about 150 vendors including artisans, foodies, designers, jewellers and musicians.
Its debut season welcomed about 12,000 people per week through the gates, and its influence is set to grow yet further with a market at Al Majaz Waterfront in Sharjah due to launch at the beginning of November, and plans to establish a third market in Abu Dhabi.
This on top of the pop-up market at Jones the Grocer in Abu Dhabi twice per week.
According to Balderstone, the markets came out of a desire to build something similar to those found in England and Australia.
“We wanted to provide a community event,” she says.
“We wanted to engage the community in our passion for local organic produce and we wanted it to be somewhere that people could come, touch, smell and interact with the produce.
“I used to love meandering through market stalls and got excited about visiting food and craft markets in other countries and I wanted to give people here a similar experience. It was also important for us to give local businesses a platform to showcase their products and services.
“The response we got was amazing and by the end of last season we were blown away by the amount of people coming through the gates every week.
“This year we have a gorgeous new location in Zabeel Park, Dubai, and our markets team are working very hard to develop more Ripe Food & Craft markets across the UAE, and some cool pop-up market events in different locations to make Ripe accessible to everybody.”
As Balderstone highlights, the markets are not just a place for Ripe to sell to the crowds. They also give other start-ups, small businesses and entrepreneurs vital exposure to people they may find it hard to otherwise reach.
“There is an amazing community of small businesses in the UAE,” she continues.
“Everyone is so passionate about what they do and it’s really nice to see talented, independent artisans. Obviously there is competition within any industry and I do think competition is healthy, but with small businesses everyone is in the same boat, and approaches are slightly different.”
The businesswoman’s own experience as a small business owner has – as with most people – had its ups and downs, but she believes that the support she has received has helped make the journey easier.
“Setting up a business anywhere is challenging, and navigating regulations and procedures in an unfamiliar country can be difficult,” she says.
“However, there is always a way to overcome challenges. I am also very lucky in that I have an incredibly supportive sponsor who is also passionate about what Ripe stands for and what we do, so this allows us to grow the business effectively.”
This support has allowed the company to move into even more community-minded areas, such as Raising with Ripe.
The initiative allows people to raise money for their children’s schools, as well as encouraging healthier eating among the students.
Every week, the company supplies schools and nurseries with bags of produce, with parents and teachers able to sign up for collection. The school received 10 percent of the price of every bag sold.
Balderstone says: “I have small children and want them to grow up making smart food choices, understanding where their food comes from and enjoying fruits and veggies as much as I do.
“This is something I wanted to share with all the kids in Dubai, and that’s why Raising with Ripe was started. We have many schools on board, which is great, but we’re always looking to add more and spread the message among the next generation.”
No doubt with Ripe’s expanding sphere of influence, and the clear passion that Balderstone and her team exude, the rise of organic produce will continue at an accelerated rate, impacting an ever growing number of people and communities.
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