On the sidelines of Gulfood 2020, bottled water industry leaders signed an MoU to form the Gulf Bottled Water Association (GBWA).
Headquartered in Dubai, the association aims to bring together a regional work- ing group of all bottled water industry members to address sector challenges and make the industry more competitive.
Creating a unified body to communicate with various government sectors, GBWA members will address sustainability and environmental issues that affect the bottled water industry.
The association will engage with regulators through conferences, workshops, research and report building, as well as position papers.
The founding members of the association are Tariq Ahmed Al Wahedi, CEO of Agthia Group PJSC; Alexander van’t Riet, CEO of Mai Dubai LLC; Hamza Iqbal, CEO of National Food Products Company (NFPC); and Mohamed Al Owais, Chairman of Emirates Refreshments.
Mr Van’t Riet said: “It’s with great pleasure that we announce the formation of GBWA, an instrumental element in the further evolution of the bottled water industry in our region.
“Over the past year, key stakeholders have taken the time to prepare for this moment, and we look forward to the successful collaboration with our fellow industry colleagues. Together, through this association, we will overcome some of the industry’s most critical challenges and create a platform for progress.”
At the launch, Packaging MEA chief editor Ben Daniel spoke exclusively with Agthia CEO Mr Al Wahedi.
Ben Daniel (B): What made you start an association like this and what is your prime objective? Tariq Al Wahedi (T): In F&B there are greater challenges but for the bottle companies the challenges are specific. We now have a platform to share knowledge. When we unified our voice, it was easier to communicate to the consumers and the government. Everyone has lot of knowhow to share. Rather than me tapping into their pool, Mai Dubai and Masafi tapping into that, why don’t we all talk to each other? Knowledge- sharing will be beneficial for us. What we have achieved in PLA and so on, I don’t mind – if this is what the consumer wants and if it’s in the interests of the industry – to share the know- how with other companies. They can get the required knowledge. Why make his life miserable? Let’s all move the bar. It is to our advantage to move the bar. You enhance the life of the consumer but at the same time you have a competitive edge as well. A small plant from China cannot just come and open here and start supplying low- quality bottles/water. You are increasing the bar as well as shifting the lifestyle. This is a platform where we can stand united and approach the government agencies. Sharing knowledge, consumer awareness and communicating to the government was the drive. I come from a different industry but I have exposure in the oil industry, petrochemicals, and so on. When I saw the fragmentation here, I passed the information which was well accepted.
This MoU welcomes any entity, partnership, or corporation engaged in the bottling of water or in the distribution of bottled water, or in supplying related products or services within the GCC.