Carrefour launches its first Bio store in Dubai

Carrefour, owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim in the UAE, has opened its first Bio store in City Centre Me’aisem in Dubai.

It features the retailer’s first-ever café and an in-store hydroponic farm, with an underlying focus on sustainability.

The store’s concept has been drawn up based on qualitative data studies around organic shopping in the UAE and on locally-sourced products, with over 3,000 items spanning from food and beverages to beauty, personal, and home care items.

The store includes a selection of fruit and vegetables sourced from 100 per cent organic certified farms, poultry and meat with no added hormones, and organic-fed fish from approved piscaries,. It caters to diverse dietary requirements including a range of vegan, keto, free-from and dairy-free products.

The brand’s first sit-down dining café offers all-day breakfast, salads, juices, organic teas and coffees, as well as options from manakeesh to burgers with a plant-based twist.

Carrefour Bio offers recyclable paper bags and uses biodegradable packaging across its fresh products in line with its aim to eliminate single-use plastic from its operations by 2025.

Customers will also find refilling stations for water and detergents to prevent excessive plastic consumption. The store’s hydroponic farm will also offset Carrefour’s carbon footprint and bolster food security in the UAE.

Visit our new and first of its kind Carrefour Bio in City Center Meai'sem, our own store and Bio café where you can enjoy your healthy cravings, and shop the most natural and sustainable products, in addition to organic fresh selections. #MoreForYou #GreatMoments @MajidAlFuttaim pic.twitter.com/ykAdPbD9eF

— @CarrefourUAE (@CarrefourUAE) February 28, 2022

The advanced store concept implements eco-friendly equipment to reduce energy consumption by as much as 15 per cent, plus digital price tags connected through WiFi offer a sustainable substitute to printed paper labels.

All the tables and shelves have been made using recycled pallets, and a pick by weight sections seeks to reduce waste by allowing customers to bring home their desired quantities of nuts, spices, and dried fruits in recyclable paper bags.

Carrefour has also dedicated a special area of the store towards small- and medium-enterprises in the UAE. Unique displays showcase home-made products in support of local businesses, the economy, and the retail industry, whilst over 20 per cent of all the items in-store are exclusive to the private label brand “Carrefour Bio”.

The store was inaugurated on Friday, February 25, Mariam Bint Mohammed Saeed Hareb Almheiri, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment and Hani Weiss, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Retail.

“We are honoured to have gained the support of the UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment as we seek to champion healthy living and forge a greener future together with our government. Our research tells us that whilst healthy eating is now a huge priority, many consumers limit organic shopping as they perceive it as a more expensive option. This is exactly what Carrefour BIO seeks to solve, offering healthier alternatives at affordable prices to ensure the wellbeing of the entire community. Customers can now find healthy products, make conscious decisions whilst dining out and help save the planet one recyclable bag at a time – all under one roof in Carrefour’s Bio store,” said Weiss.

Majid Al Futtaim has pioneered several initiatives within the UAE’s retails space. Last year, it launched its first automated fulfilment centre in Dubai to ensure faster and more efficient deliveries for online orders. The company collaborated with e-grocery innovator Takeoff Technologies to launch the centre at its Carrefour store in Ibn Battuta Mall.

Read: Video: Autonomous robots deployed in Carrefour fulfilment centre in Dubai

Separately, it also launched the region’s first checkout-free store, Carrefour City+, at Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates. The store, which uses artificial intelligence technology, allows shoppers to access the store by using the app on their phones, pick up products and exit the store without having to pay at any counter.

Read: Carrefour opens new AI-powered checkout-free store in Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates