Food over fitness – that was the choice Musabeh Essa Alfardh Alali and his brothers, Ahmed and Mohammed, made when they decided it was time to make their business mark on the UAE.
“There were so many ideas of what sort of business to make, such as a gym that has lots of exercises explained on an iPad so any trainer can learn,” Alali says. “But after we did a bit of research, we found out that the most successful businesses are food and beverage businesses.”
This realization led them down the foodie path. They wanted their business to be unique, allowing prospective customers to try something new.
In 2013, Fashion Sweets was born. “We planned to start with unique treats – cookies with unique style and taste, and to have a unique logo – a cute owl that can be memorised fast.”
Baking was a hobby for the Alalis before their business began, but they’ve since put themselves through courses in Dubai and learnt as much as possible via the internet and magazines.
“Our biggest inspirations are Laura Vitale and Byron Talbott, the best [foodie] YouTubers. We have learnt a lot from their work,” says Alali. “I love all kind of baking, however I always want to create my own way, so [when] I find a recipe, I like to change it and make it different.”
The first treats to come off their production line were branded chocolate-filled cookies, which were made with Nutella, Kinder, Hershey’s, M&Ms and Galaxy. While the passion was in full supply, there were some challenges – for one, men being in the kitchen was a hard sell to their father.
But the trio persevered, and launched the first Fashion Sweets Cafe in Umm Al Quwain City in September. It began mainly as a takeaway establishment, but they plan to turn it into more of a sit-down dining spot in the future.
Image: Sarah Dea / The National
From thenational.ae
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