The rights cover Middle East and North Africa, with the exception of Egypt for Nom Foods.
Wellbeing is working to establish itself as a distributor for organic food products and supplements in the Middle East, and is currently in negotiation with retailers across the region to stock its product ranges.
“We are initially focusing outreach to UAE, followed by Saudi Arabia and then expansion across additional Middle East markets. Retailers such as Trolley.ae, Ripe ME, Down to Earth Organic and various juice bars in the UAE have expressed keen interest in our entire range,” said Zara Shirwan, director of products and communications at Wellbeing.
“We are also being approached by restaurants looking to acquire wholesale amounts of our superfoods for trade use. The response has been fantastic and we haven't really got started yet. I've been hearing from retailers that they're very keen to import more organic and health brands – which is great news,” she added.
Creative Nature's products focus on “superfoods” such as goji berries, cacao nibs and bee pollen, and include snack bars and nutritional supplements. Nom has a range of oat-based snack bars, which are certified organic.
“Our mission at Nom has always been to make it easier for people to access nutritionally rich health foods and what better way to start 2014 than to extend that opportunity to the Middle East. There is a genuine opportunity for huge and positive change here and we are thrilled to be a part of it,” said Steph Croft-Simon, founder of Nom Foods.
Julianne Ponan, finance director at Creative Nature, said: “We can’t wait to launch our complete range of premium quality superfoods and snack bars in the UAE and Middle East. This is a great opportunity for us to bring truly healthy products to a region that is crying out for nutritionally beneficial foods, to support a healthy balanced diet.”
Shirwan said she believes the regional market for organic food is still in its early stages, but the market offers huge potential.
“When the Middle East catches onto an idea, it takes it to the max and I have no doubt that we'll see the same with this market. Middle East consumers – and governments – are taking preventative healthcare more seriously than ever. You only have to look at the stats on diabetes to see the writing on the wall. Middle East consumers, like everyone, want to make the healthy choice,” she said.