Why We Stock Hunters – An interview with Dean & Deluca Middle East

We had the pleasure of speaking to John Donnelly, Category Manager of Dean & Deluca Middle East about their partnership with Hunter Foods. Responsible for developing relationships with suppliers and wholesalers across the MENA region, John is also tasked with bringing new, exclusive and premium gourmet products to Dean & Deluca in the region. Both Dean & Deluca in Kuwait and in the UAE stock a number of products from the Hunter’s Gourmet range and have partnered with Hunter Foods Private Label division. Congratulations on the new Dean & Deluca opening at Mall of the Emirates, what made you choose this as your location in the UAE? The Dean & Deluca in Mall of the Emirates is in a prime location in their newly built extension, it is more of a restaurant format than customers from the US will be used to but it does include a small retail space with some of our favourite products available to purchase. Do you have plans to open elsewhere in the UAE? Yes! We are looking at potential locations in Dubai and around the GCC and hope to have a few more stores over the next couple of years. What have you found to be the biggest cultural challenges you have faced opening a Dean & Deluca in Dubai? Our flagship Middle East store is in Kuwait and has a very local, Kuwaiti demographic. Dubai is the opposite, particularly in a landmark such as Mall of the Emirates where the clientele is very tourist driven and with lots of expats alongside the local Emiratis. We have had to tailor our products and menus to everyone and broaden our range quite extensively to ensure we are catering to everyone’s tastes. How did you hear about Hunter Foods? Hunters Foods were the first suppliers I spoke to when I joined the brand. Ananya and Yan came to meet me in Kuwait and brought bags and bags of samples! My first impression was that they were incredibly passionate about what they do and they were very willing and flexible when it came to working with Dean & Deluca, they completely bought into the brand and the feeling was mutual. What made you decide to stock Hunter Food products? Yan and Ananya came to meet me and it was clear that they had an extensive range of fantastic, very high end, unique products that we could work with. They were very willing to listen to my ideas and were great fun to work with. How do you feel that Dean & Deluca and Hunter Foods are aligned? Aside from the actual products it is also important that we work with people who have the same company ethics / outlook as we do, we look at how they deal with their suppliers, how they treat their staff, are they using quality ingredients, are they from sustainable sources, do they use unnecessary additives etc… we instantly felt that we shared the same priorities. You have also chosen Hunter Foods as the manufacturer of your own label products, why? Particularly with private label produce it is extremely important that we form a strong relationship and have very good understanding of expectations. After all we are trusting them with the Dean & Deluca brand. Hunter Foods attention to detail, perfectionism and their passion for quality ingredients is second to none, there was a real commitment to working with us and getting it right.  They are one of only two companies we work with for private label in the region. How would you describe Hunter Foods in three words? Passionate, hardworking and fun. Dean & Deluca, Mall of the Emirates opened on December 12^th and can be found in the newly built ‘Evolution 2015’ extension.