Healthy snacks: Let's bite the bullet

All of us like to munch and one man has actually made that into his business by launching munchbox. Mahmoud Adham, founder, munchbox, - Egyptian/Belgian national - who relocated to Dubai from Belgium for two months and noticed a weight gain of 6kg in that period. This made him so conscious that it became the need of the hour to come up with something that kept him snacking and yet controlled those bulging calories.

"I am very careful with my meals, but it's the snacking at my desk that was the culprit. After shedding the weight with a lot of sweat and tears, I had a "never again" moment, so I started preparing my own snacks and taking them to the office. Realising that it was too much of a hassle, I looked for a company that only delivers snacks, and to my surprise there were none! So I sold my house, gathered my life savings and started munchbox in August 2014," said Adham, who is a mechanical engineer.

In just about two and half years, munchbox has grown from a one man company to a 14 person team, present in 255 outlets across the UAE and 50 more outlets in Qatar. This is in addition to its long list of corporate customers and online clients. Adham said: "The problem we are solving is that of busy health conscious professionals who work long hours and cannot spare the time or effort to cater for their healthy snacking needs."

The startup capital for the firm was initially raised from Adham's life savings and contributions from friends and family. "We had a series A equity fund raise of $300,000 last May and are targeting another round late this year to support our regional expansion plans. Our investors are Prime Venture Partners," said Adham who worked for Procter & Gamble in Egypt, Nigeria, and Belgium for 11 years as a regional engineering manager and then joined a multinational confectionary manufacturer in Dubai for three years managing engineering and production.

"The problem munchbox solves for the people of the GCC is one that we all struggle with: weight loss. The Mena market is 381 million people, 50 per cent of which are trying to lose weight. 68 pr cent of them are doing so by changing their diet. Many companies out there are tackling the three meals, but very few are helping solve the potentially bigger snacking challenges we all face. These facts, combined with the passion, the many years of blue chip experience we saw in the team and the uniqueness of the product, made it an immediate winner. Aside from the hard numbers, on which munchbox has delivered, one thing we are particularly proud of is that munchbox is a Dubai born and made brand. It is very rare that we find a locally developed and made FMCG brand that is going regional with zero support from abroad. Especially in the startup arena. The investment committee of prime venture partners is very excited about the new unique line up of healthy snacks that munchbox is launching in the region, and the supply base capabilities that the team is working on. 2017 will be the munchbox year," said Prime Venture Partners - Munchbox investor - in a statement issued to Khaleej Times.

The company has witnessed a 300 per cent growth in retail sales between 2015 and 2016 and projects double digit growth ongoingly for the next five years. - sandhya@khaleejtimes.com