The Lebanese chocolatier Patchi is planning a new factory in Dubai as it rebuilds from the fire that engulfed its previous production site in the emirate.
Yesterday Patchi opened a temporary facility in Dubai Industrial City (DIC) at which 150 workers will produce 3,000 kilograms of chocolate a day.
The company has also secured a plot of land at DIC on which it will build its long-term solution: a factory that is expected to start operations next year with an expected capacity of 10,000 kg a day.
The factory is meant to fill demand from Patchi’s UAE division as well as franchises in the Arabian Gulf region. Once it is ready, Patchi will move over from its temporary facility.
Patchi’s old factory in Al Quoz was damaged in a fire in September 2013.
For about a year, Patchi’s UAE division has shipped in chocolates on a daily basis from its Lebanon factory to supply its boutiques. Patchi has 30 branches across the UAE and some 145 outlets in 23 countries from Azerbaijan to the UK.
“It was a challenging year, we had faced some challenges and shortages in some of our products, [but] with the opening of our factory we will be able to provide again our customers with all their needs and requests,” said Oussama Choucair, Patchi’s chief executive.
Growth in demand is enticing local chocolate players to ramp up their production, Patchi alone expects to double its UAE boutiques to 60 by 2025.
The country’s chocolate confectionery market is expected to touch US$319.2 million this year, up from $289.6m last year, according to Euromonitor International.
The market last year was dominated by multinationals such as US-based Mars and Mondelez, Italy’s Ferrero and Switzerland’s Nestlé, Chocoladefabriken Lindt & Sprüngli, all of which depend on mass market demand. Fine chocolate brands such as Patchi target the retail and corporate gift sectors.
Patchi was started in Beirut in 1974 by Nizar Choucair, father of the current chief executive.
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