Freshii, the North American health food sensation, officially opens its doors to its first Middle Eastern outlet today. Known for its delicious, fully custom-built menu with sustainably grown ingredients and hip, environmentally aware atmosphere, Freshii offers a new take on the concept of "fast food." The first outlet is located in Dubai's prestigious DIFC district, the perfect venue for the health aware, high-achieving Freshii customer base. Expansion plans for five additional Freshii stores in the region are planned, in addition to a mobile website for ordering via blackberry and a UAE iPhone application. In a mere five years, Freshii has gone from a single outlet to a global sensation. With locations in the United States, Canada, Austria, and now Dubai, an expected 52 units before 2011, 300 by 2015, and a store opening each week, the brand has been dubbed the next Starbucks, and its CEO, Matthew Corrin, "the next Howard Shultz."
"We think patrons in Dubai, like others around the world, will demand fresher, healthier options from quick service restaurants in years to come, and Freshii will fill that need. Freshii brings high quality, customizable menu options. The ingredients are fresh and healthy, but at the same time, full of taste and very filling," comments Jennifer Ridgway, Managing Partner of Freshii Middle East.
Freshii's menus operate around a 'build your own' format, offering salads, burritos, wraps, rice bowls, yogurt, and soups, prepared in front of patrons' eyes. In order to satisfy the demands of the Middle Eastern consumer, Freshii will mix signature North American dishes with Arabic sauces and flavourings to ensure fast popularity across the Emirate. Keeping in tune with its eco-friendly operations, everything taken from Freshii either biodegrades naturally into the earth or is easily recyclable. The packaging, including bowls, straws, cutlery and cups is made from eco-friendly vegetable starch such as corn or potato, which degrades quickly, leaving behind only carbon, biomass, and water. What is more, if a customer brings in a bowl, it is happily washed and filled with Freshii's best.
With a planned strategy of regional expansion beginning with a second Dubai restaurant later this year, the Freshii team is committed to setting a blueprint for the concept of healthy "fast food" for the Middle East and to guiding individuals into making healthier eating choices. Matthew Corrin, Freshii Founder and CEO states:
"Diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are an endemic crisis in the GCC, which is wholly preventable; restaurants must be socially responsible and arm customers with health-conscious choices. It is disappointing when the food industry concocts items containing over 1000 calories for their menus; with the sole purpose of extorting our love of 'more is more'. At Freshii, we offer more too - more fresh customizable items that leave our customers energized, light, and feeling fantastic, instead of weighed down by one of the many diseases caused by unhealthy eating choices".
