Lulu opens British Food Festival 2017

Lulu Group has organised a ‘British Food Festival’ across all its hypermarkets in Qatar starting from yesterday, to supplement the ongoing work of the British Embassy and British Council, Doha.
The Festival was inaugurated by Ajay Sharma, the British Ambassador to Qatar, at Lulu Group’s newly opened Hypermarket in Al Messila yesterday in the presence of dignitaries from British Embassy, British Council, Department for International Trade, Qatar-British Business Forum, officials from Lulu Group, schools, and retail/FMCG sectors.
The children of The Kings’ College Doha performed a medley of iconic UK music in the presence of the Ambassador and other invited guests. The store was given the British touch with British flags and pictorial representations of historical landmarks of Great Britain.
The festival is a major showcase of all major food products of the UK to serve as a platform to highlight and promote the best of British culinary heritage, food and brands among the local community and a large cross-section of expatriates. An official communique notes that a range of more than 10,000 British products imported from the UK are being exhibited including chilled and frozen food, fish, cheese, dairy products, hot food, groceries, confectionary, fruit & vegetables, delicatessen, canned foods, diabetic-friendly, gluten-free, and organic products, household and health and beauty. This will provide the customers with an opportunity to explore the culinary delights and lifestyle of Britain.
Lulu Group has been organising British Food Festivals for several years, and every year it draws overwhelming response from all corners. This year the festival is taking place between May 3 to 10 at Lulu stores in the region. As a major retailer, every year Lulu Group launches innovative festivals that promote the heritage, food and food products of various countries.
Last year, Lulu Group launched two major British product lines across all its regions, namely Harrogate Water and the Oxford range of biscuits, chocolates and specialty tea – a company formed in 1096 and quintessentially British.
Recently, Y International (UK) Ltd, part of Lulu Group and one of the major food processing and export distribution centres in the UK, has won the prestigious “Queen's Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2017” for its exceptional contribution to the UK's trade, industry and economy. This centre began in 2013 in Birmingham, and it exports high quality British products to all its hypermarkets in the GCC, Egypt and Far East and employs more than 300 British staff.
Yusaffali MA, Chairman and Managing Director of Lulu Group said: “The recognition for his Birmingham-based Y International (UK) Ltd will spur his company to further expand its business in the UK”.
The Queen's Award for Enterprise is conferred annually by Queen Elizabeth II on her birthday, April 21, upon businesses that showcase great enterprise across the fields of innovation, international trade, promoting opportunity through social mobility and sustainable development. The recipients of the 2017 awards will be invited to a special reception at Buckingham Palace later this year.
Ranked as a top retailer in the MENA region and listed among the top 50 fastest growing retailers in the world by Deloitte, Lulu Group has made significant investments in the UK in recent years for acquiring the iconic Scotland Yard building in London and in luxury retail brand East India Company.