Latest news with #Kibsons
Gulf News
30-04-2025
- Business
- Gulf News
'Dubai and I grew up together': How Halima Jumani helped reshape UAE fresh food economy with e-commerce giant
She watched a city rise before her eyes and grew with it. That's the story of Dubai-based Halima Jumani. Her journey began long before she became the CEO of Kibsons E-Commerce in 2017, an online delivery service transforming the grocery e-commerce landscape in the UAE. With a smile and flourish she says, 'Dubai and I grew together. The city was born in the early 1970s, and I was born in 1979. I was born, raised here and my whole life was here.' Life was still relatively simple; it was all about being with her friends and family. 'Dubai was a humbling place, filled with sincerity. The focus was on hard work,' says Jumani. She vividly remembers what those early years were like: Innovation was everywhere. 'The government was doing everything to keep people safe and secure, and each sector was slowly building, growing,' she says, recalling the gradual flourishing of entertainment. That spirit of growth and possibility wasn't just shaping the city — it was shaping her. Brimming with curiosity and drive, Jumani dove into every opportunity the city presented. Whether it was coding in computer science or crafting a commendable thesis on biodegradable nappies, she embraced it all. Her academic focus sharpened, and it wasn't long before she discovered where her true passion lay. It was in finance. 'I always knew that I wanted to do it. I did a one-year course, and by the time I was 21, I had graduated with all requirements,' she says She married Jamal Hussain in 1999, becoming part of the family behind Kibsons, which has been providing fresh food in the UAE since 1980. At the time, she was at KPMG. While she lent a helping hand to the family business, she hadn't formally joined. 'I was handling several jobs and two children at the time,' she smiles. But as the years passed, Jumani began to see a shift in herself. Her laser-sharp focus and ability to focus on detail, her greatest strengths, were starting to feel limiting. 'I wanted to shift to a more helicopter view, a broader view of life.' That desire sparked a bold decision: in 2005, she packed her bags — and her two young children — and moved to the UK for a two-year MBA. There, she didn't just study; she unraveled and rebuilt her way of thinking, working on herself from the inside out. Joining Kibsons Her third child was born in 2007, and with that milestone, Jumani knew it was finally time to dedicate herself fully to the family business. While her husband, Hussain, focused on the commercial side, she took the reins on finance and operations. Their roles complemented each other, forming a strong foundation for what was to come. It was, as she describes, a regimented process. However, such stories come with painful decisions. Jumani admits, with a laugh, that she can be ruthless when the situation calls for it. 'If certain aspects need to be pulled up, I wouldn't hesitate to do so.' There were difficult conversations and plenty of pushback, especially from long-standing team members. 'But there were problems in the distribution vertical, and for two years, I struggled to understand what was going wrong, on how to cut costs, with storage and listing fees. And I found that the contracts were flawed,' she says. As practical and results-driven as she is, Jumani also recognised the human side of business, that real people, with livelihoods on the line, were depending on her. That sense of responsibility is what inspired her to build Kibsons' e-commerce platform. 'I was responsible for people's jobs, I just couldn't let it all fall apart. And what's so beautiful now, is that they all thriving now, some of them have grown as leaders,' she says, referring to team members who now lead various operations. That was one motivation. 'Another, was because I wanted to bring healthy eating into people's homes,' she says. And that's exactly what Kibsons set out to do — make healthy eating accessible and affordable. 'In our home, rest, recovery and nutrition are always prioritised. I mean, blueberries are my popcorn,' says Jumani with a laugh. From a modest start of 50 orders a day, Kibsons now delivers over 150,000 orders daily. The difficulties of COVID COVID struck in 2020, uprooting people's livelihoods in a flash. Jumani realised that the business had to be at the forefront along with healthcare, to help people, and deliver fresh food to them everyday. 'When COVID hit, we saw the world needed us. The orders just grew, and I went and told my staff, that we are all here for a reason. People need us. The families need us, as groceries are so important,' she says. Jumani continues, 'Those first few months, everyone worked around the clock, making sure families got their groceries on time. Nobody took a day off, even though our staff was limited,' she remembers. It wasn't about a business; it had become about humanity. And that's how for her, the business transformed into something more than just an e-commerce platform. Soon, she hired 400 people too. And as her story shows, Jumani's ability to evolve, from a detail-driven accountant to a strategic leader, from a young coder to a champion of wellness, reflects the very spirit of Dubai she grew up with: bold, adaptive, and future-facing, as she says.
Gulf News
30-04-2025
- Business
- Gulf News
'Dubai and I grew up together': Halima Jumani's trailblazing rise from finance to CEO of fresh food e-commerce giant
She watched a city rise before her eyes and grew with it. That's the story of Dubai-based Halima Jumani. Her journey began long before she became the CEO of Kibsons E-Commerce in 2017, an online delivery service transforming the grocery e-commerce landscape in the UAE. With a smile and flourish she says, 'Dubai and I grew together. The city was born in the early 1970s, and I was born in 1979. I was born, raised here and my whole life was here.' Life was still relatively simple; it was all about being with her friends and family. 'Dubai was a humbling place, filled with sincerity. The focus was on hard work,' says Jumani. She vividly remembers what those early years were like: Innovation was everywhere. 'The government was doing everything to keep people safe and secure, and each sector was slowly building, growing,' she says, recalling the gradual flourishing of entertainment. That spirit of growth and possibility wasn't just shaping the city — it was shaping her. Brimming with curiosity and drive, Jumani dove into every opportunity the city presented. Whether it was coding in computer science or crafting a commendable thesis on biodegradable nappies, she embraced it all. Her academic focus sharpened, and it wasn't long before she discovered where her true passion lay. It was in finance. 'I always knew that I wanted to do it. I did a one-year course, and by the time I was 21, I had graduated with all requirements,' she says She married Jamal Hussain in 1999, becoming part of the family behind Kibsons, which has been providing fresh food in the UAE since 1980. At the time, she was at KPMG. While she lent a helping hand to the family business, she hadn't formally joined. 'I was handling several jobs and two children at the time,' she smiles. But as the years passed, Jumani began to see a shift in herself. Her laser-sharp focus and ability to focus on detail, her greatest strengths, were starting to feel limiting. 'I wanted to shift to a more helicopter view, a broader view of life.' That desire sparked a bold decision: in 2005, she packed her bags — and her two young children — and moved to the UK for a two-year MBA. There, she didn't just study; she unraveled and rebuilt her way of thinking, working on herself from the inside out. Joining Kibsons Her third child was born in 2007, and with that milestone, Jumani knew it was finally time to dedicate herself fully to the family business. While her husband, Hussain, focused on the commercial side, she took the reins on finance and operations. Their roles complemented each other, forming a strong foundation for what was to come. It was, as she describes, a regimented process. However, such stories come with painful decisions. Jumani admits, with a laugh, that she can be ruthless when the situation calls for it. 'If certain aspects need to be pulled up, I wouldn't hesitate to do so.' There were difficult conversations and plenty of pushback, especially from long-standing team members. 'But there were problems in the distribution vertical, and for two years, I struggled to understand what was going wrong, on how to cut costs, with storage and listing fees. And I found that the contracts were flawed,' she says. As practical and results-driven as she is, Jumani also recognised the human side of business, that real people, with livelihoods on the line, were depending on her. That sense of responsibility is what inspired her to build Kibsons' e-commerce platform. 'I was responsible for people's jobs, I just couldn't let it all fall apart. And what's so beautiful now, is that they all thriving now, some of them have grown as leaders,' she says, referring to team members who now lead various operations. That was one motivation. 'Another, was because I wanted to bring healthy eating into people's homes,' she says. And that's exactly what Kibsons set out to do — make healthy eating accessible and affordable. 'In our home, rest, recovery and nutrition are always prioritised. I mean, blueberries are my popcorn,' says Jumani with a laugh. From a modest start of 50 orders a day, Kibsons now delivers over 150,000 orders daily. The difficulties of COVID COVID struck in 2020, uprooting people's livelihoods in a flash. Jumani realised that the business had to be at the forefront along with healthcare, to help people, and deliver fresh food to them everyday. 'When COVID hit, we saw the world needed us. The orders just grew, and I went and told my staff, that we are all here for a reason. People need us. The families need us, as groceries are so important,' she says. Jumani continues, 'Those first few months, everyone worked around the clock, making sure families got their groceries on time. Nobody took a day off, even though our staff was limited,' she remembers. It wasn't about a business; it had become about humanity. And that's how for her, the business transformed into something more than just an e-commerce platform. Soon, she hired 400 people too. And as her story shows, Jumani's ability to evolve, from a detail-driven accountant to a strategic leader, from a young coder to a champion of wellness, reflects the very spirit of Dubai she grew up with: bold, adaptive, and future-facing, as she says.
The National
17-04-2025
- General
- The National
Why hot cross buns are eaten on Good Friday
It's almost Easter. And if there is one food that the holiday is synonymous with, chocolate eggs aside, it is hot cross buns. These spiced sweet treats are traditionally eaten on Good Friday, just before the end of Lent. They can be served cold or toasted, and be eaten alone or with spreads such as butter, honey and jam. In recent years, more unique flavours have been introduced to the classic recipe – however, the original is flavoured with cinnamon and nutmeg and contains currants. Easter is a Christian festival to mark the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The holiday begins with 40 days of fasting, prayer and abstinence, with chocolate and sweet treats being a common pleasure for Christians to abstain from. As the period comes to an end, Easter celebrations begin with Good Friday, when Jesus was crucified. Being marked with a cross, hot cross buns are a visual representation of this, and the traditional spices used in the bakery goods are used to represent the spices used to embalm his body after his death. Made with cupboard stables of flour, butter, sugar and spice, they are usually eaten to break the fast of Lent, much like the tradition of making pancakes on Shove Tuesday, before Lent begins. Hot cross buns have been a key feature of Easter celebrations for hundreds of years, with records documenting eating them on Good Friday in 1733 – with a cup of tea, of course – as featured in Poor Robin's Almanac, a satirical information series. By the 19th century, they were commonly sold in the streets on Good Friday. The call of street sellers is a now-popular nursery rhyme of the same name. However, the link precedes this by at least 400 years. Exact origins are murky and early records are sparse, but in the second millennium the recipe and tradition were linked to monasteries in the UK. One story points to 14th-century monk Brother Thomas Rodcliffe, who was documented as serving a similar recipe to the poor on Good Friday. In the UAE, you can buy hot cross buns at supermarkets such as Spinneys, Kibsons and Waitrose. British retailer Marks & Spencer has got creative with its flavours in recent years, deviating from spices and dried fruits, with chocolate, Bramley apple, blond chocolate and salted caramel, blueberry and even savoury Marmite and cheese flavoured buns. Sonu Koithara, executive chef at Taj Jumeirah Lakes Towers, shares a recipe to make a 25-strong batch of the fruit buns. Ingredients for the starter 200g flour 250ml warm milk 35g fresh yeast Ingredients for the dough 500g flour 10g salt 5g bread improver 3 eggs 150g butter 250g black raisins (soaked water for a few hours beforehand) 5g nutmeg 5g cinnamon 5g Stollen spice (or a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves in the same quantity) 125g sugar Ingredients for the icing 50g T55 flour 25g corn oil 56ml water 6g sugar Method
