Awafi Foodstuff Signals New Growth Chapter for Crunchos at ISM Middle East 2025

Awafi Foodstuff Industries, a proud affiliate of Juma Al Majid Holding Group, has successfully concluded its participation at ISM Middle East 2025, the region’s largest trade fair for sweets and snacks held from 15 to 17 September 2025 at the Dubai World Trade Center. The exhibition marked an important first step in reinvigorating the company’s flagship brand Crunchos, while also highlighting Awafi’s world-class private labelling capabilities – two growth pillars that will guide the business into its next phase.

As part of this renewed focus, Awafi has already embarked on new packaging designs to strengthen Crunchos’ shelf presence and is preparing brand extensions into new snack categories to broaden its consumer reach. Combined with its commitment to building international exports and expanding private label partnerships, these initiatives reflect a clear roadmap for revitalizing Crunchos and repositioning Awafi as a stronger FMCG player.

The 2025 edition of ISM Middle East brought together over 550 exhibitors from more than 60 countries and welcomed close to 20,000 international visitors across its six exhibition halls. Against this competitive backdrop, the Crunchos stand stood out with a bold new design that reflected the brand’s refreshed identity and attracted steady engagement from trade visitors and buyers alike.

Awafi’s Emad Alkanony (Sales Manager) and Loay Jaradat (Plant Manager) with trade visitors and buyers.

Commenting on the event, Khaldoun Al Hallak, recently appointed Director of Awafi and Gulfco, said:

“The strong interest we received in Crunchos confirmed that the brand has real potential to grow well beyond the UAE. ISM was not only a valuable platform to showcase our private labeling expertise, but also the right moment to reintroduce Crunchos with a renewed focus. The encouraging feedback we gathered gives us confidence as we move ahead with new packaging, category extensions, and stronger international outreach.”

While Gulfco, also a proud affiliate of Juma Al Majid Holding Group – continues to ensure strong domestic distribution across the UAE, Awafi is now positioning itself to pursue export opportunities and build private label collaborations with leading retailers and distributors abroad. This alignment allows the company to balance a steady home market presence with the pursuit of new international growth avenues.

Khaldoun Al Hallak added:

“I would like to sincerely thank the Awafi team and our colleagues from Group Marketing for their dedication and professionalism. Their hard work ensured that Crunchos made a strong impression at ISM, and more importantly, it has set the stage for the brand’s next phase of growth. From stand design to marketing collaterals, every effort contributed not just to a successful exhibition, but to the foundations of a renewed strategy for Crunchos and Awafi.”

Awafi’s participation at ISM Middle East was not only a showcase of products but also a signal of renewed focus. For Crunchos, which has been relatively quiet in recent years, the event served as a reset – demonstrating that the brand carries strong potential to compete more effectively in the regional snacking market and beyond.

The launch of new packaging and brand extensions, coupled with a stronger push in exports and private label partnerships, represents the next phase of growth. While this is the beginning of a longer journey, the positive market response at ISM confirmed that the right foundations are now in place.

Awafi remains committed to turning this potential into measurable results, with Crunchos at the heart of its strategy and its promise of delivering “The Perfect Crunch. In Every Munch.”