SPC Group's bakery brand Paris Baguette is expanding into the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
On October 22, SPC Group's Parisi Baguette, which is participating in the Presidential Economic Mission to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Galadari Brothers Group, a leading local company, at the Fairmont Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to establish a joint venture partnership for the expansion of Parisi Baguette into the Middle East.
Following the launch of a halal-certified factory in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, in June last year, this MOU marks the company's first major foray into the $2 trillion halal market.
Galadari Brothers Group, founded in the UAE in 1961, is a global company with media, automotive and food businesses in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as well as in the United Kingdom, Australia, Sri Lanka and other countries around the world. It has more than 1,000 restaurants in the Middle East.
Paris Baguette plans to establish a joint venture with the Galadari Brothers Group in 2024 and to be present in 12 countries in the Middle East and Africa by 2033, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain. Products will be supplied from a halal-certified production base in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, which is scheduled to be completed next year.
The signing ceremony was attended by Heo Jin-soo, President of SPC Group, who oversees the global business of Paris Baguette, and Mohammed Galadari, Chairman of Galadari Brothers Group.
"The halal market is of strategic importance to Paris Baguette's global business, and we will accelerate our global expansion through close cooperation and bold investment with Galadari Brothers Group," said Heo Jin-soo, President of SPC Group.
SPC Group's Paris Baguette has been expanding steadily in the global market since 2004, starting with China, and is now present in 10 countries, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Paris Baguette, which recently surpassed the Global 500 mark, generated overseas sales of more than 600 billion won last year.
