What type of natural/organic products/services do you sell in the Middle East?
Deliver 2 Mum sells and delivers organic diapers, baby wipes, infant formula, food, snacks, and baby skin care items in the United Arab Emirates. About 40% of our 500 products are organic and natural. This is because our target audience (mums) prefer to provide the best and natural products for their babies.
In your opinion, how popular is the organic industry in the UAE and the Middle East?
The organic industry is progressing rapidly and gaining traction within the general population. At the beginning, it was limited to more educated and higher socio-economic classes, but now it has become mainstream as most people are interested in it and trying to get it for their babies. We notice this trend especially amongst the food and snack categories in our business. As more and more mums are working and do not have the luxury of providing natural food for their babies, they desire to give them already prepared organic food and snacks since they firmly believe it is the best alternative for their children. Other reasons are the furious rushed lifestyle that is the norm nowadays, travelling with babies and children, and the negative publicity that processed foods are receiving (being full of pesticides). This is increasing every month as more women become mums and seek out the best to provide for their newborns. Deliver 2 Mum believes that organic and natural products will become the norm for the upcoming generation.
Why, in your opinion, do people prefer buying organic nowadays?
It is natural and maternal instinct for a mom to provide the best for her child. There is a firm belief that organic and natural is better for the baby. Deliver 2 Mum’s mission is to help mums raise their children and spend as much time caring and loving them. So, we cater towards this by providing organic and natural baby consumable products for our customers because it is what they choose. We provide the breadth and depth of choice, but it is the mum who actually chooses whether to purchase the organic or non-organic product as she is the decision maker.
How do you determine the products to sell in this market?
As we have only been in existence for less than two years, we test various baby products and analyze the trends from our customers, especially our most loyal customers who order from us on a monthly basis. If a product is selling well, then we maintain it and investigate similar products for our mums. As we like to personalize our relationship with our consumer base, we accommodate their special requirements. For example, we had a customer who wanted the Holle Organic line for their baby and we specially imported for them prior to it becoming available in the market.
As we are continuously improving the selection and user experience, we have determined that organic range in general is selling well and desired by mums who prefer our service. Since Deliver 2 Mum is a one-stop shop, they can combine regular shopping for their baby with organic shopping in one place saving them time and giving them convenience and peace of mind.
Our best seller overall is Waterwipes and Deliver 2 Mum was the first company to introduce it to the UAE. While it is about double the price of regular branded wipes, mums have wanted it for their little ones. This shows the vast potential for quality organic baby products.
Interviewed by Menaka Ramakrishnan, Buyer Manager
menaka@organicandnatural.com