A Trusted Name

Starting from a single shop, the company has thrived and grown in the region on the strength of its dynamic leadership

Looking back over the last three decades of success in the business, AAK Musthafa, Managing Director, AAK Group of Companies, credits his father MoideenKutty Haji, Chairman of the company for making him venture out of his comfort zone and learn the intricacies of the business by starting with the basics.

Musthafa is quick to point out that the story of the company would be incomplete without acknowledging the vision and courage of his father who travelled by sea in 1967 and reached Dubai to start his journey. After working for a sponsor a couple of years, MoideenKutty started managing a vegetable shop independently. This turned out to be the first step towards his entrepreneurship journey, which in 1980, developed into a wholesale shop under the name AAK. Thus, AAK Group of Companies was incorporated in 1980 by its current Chairman, P. MoideenKutty Haji with the head office at Central Fruits and Vegetable Market, in Dubai. Over four decades, the company has emerged as an expert in the field. The company is well-known as wholesalers, distributors and marketers for premium quality, branded food products such as fruits, vegetables, eggs and other foodstuff products in the Middle East and Asian Countries.

The company imports / procures quality fruits, vegetables, foodstuff and fresh chicken eggs from all over the world, with all its suppliers being certified producers and growers who meet the highest standards in their respective countries. The company holds a large number of consistent customers all over the GCC and Asian Countries with the strong commitment towards providing the quality to its valuable customers with high quality fruits, vegetables and other food products. The company’s experience in handling bulk orders and meeting targets as per the given schedules has enabled to efficiently meet consumer needs and to provide them the quality at a very competitive price.

Today, the company as a whole has a yearly turnover of more than $500 million and is rapidly increasing its business. The total strength of the employees is more than 1,500 and is spread all over the UAE, Oman, Qatar and KSA, ensuring prompt service and quality. Based on the excellence of its past experience and services, the company has introduced its products at retail markets with new brands such as Al Kadi eggs, Al Hana Eggs, KOKO Classic, etc. To provide its consumers a unique shopping experience and to meet their daily requirements, the company started their own retail stores by the name of AAK Freshmarket. While the foundation of the company was laid by his father, AAK Group of Companies really took off when AAK Musthafa joined his father in Dubai and decided to enter the business in 1993. Talking about the experience, he says: “Those days, it was not making any great profit, but slowly, I turned it around and changed the strategy.” Once again, Musthafa praises the training that he got at the start as the reason for success, he says: “ I was able to do this because I learned everything at the ground level when I started working in our shop.” Today, companies under AAK Group have around 25 wholesale shops in the UAE, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The company also has around 50 retail shops along with their own warehouses and cold storage facilities. Furthermore, the company procures and imports quality fruits, vegetables, foodstuff and fresh eggs from nearly 60 countries.

— ali@khaleejtimes.com