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is that they become ‘The Café of Choice’ for people across the region. relaunching their App to add more engaging features and to cover
When it comes to developing new products and initiatives to all segments of the business such as dine-in, pick-up or delivery in a
maintain its position in the sector, the CEO emphasises that they seamless and enjoyable process.
ask the customers what they think. “We do not develop to sell. We “Sustainability is another area that we are focusing on and we have
develop products because customers told us there is a demand. We made headway in this regard as well,” Almekkawi explains. “A few
try to match the taste and preferences of consumers in all six of our years ago we eliminated the use of plastic bags and encourage dine-in
current Middle Eastern markets. It is not an easy job to do all of that customers to use ceramics. We are also relaunching our reusable cups
while maintaining the DNA of the brand. I always tell people – ask the campaign that we introduced before the pandemic where we give a
customers. They will always tell you the truth.” discount if the customers bring their own reusable cups that we sell in
The Tim Hortons mission is to create experiential moments for their our restaurants to minimise the use of paper cups.”
customers because today it is not just about the product or service. The business is humble, unique and ambitious. They continually keep
Today, the experience retailers provide is what keeps customers an eye on competition, but their focus remains on being true to what
coming back, whether it is a fashion brand that is in question or a the brand stands for and they always listen to what customers are
restaurant. The company pays attention to small details such as the saying. They love to be part of communities and are perceived as a
look and feel of the restaurants, the level of lighting and music all the cool brand that customers from all ages love to be associated with.
while maintaining their superior level of product and service. Great Humility and striving for excellence are the keys to do so according
pride is taken in their coffee as it is made from 100 per cent Arabica to the CEO.
beans that are ethically sourced and they are the only brand that can “The pandemic has created many challenges for the F&B industry
claim this. Almekkawi feels today’s consumers are becoming more and retail in general. We are faced with the constant increase in
interested than ever to know these details and the company is proud coffee and raw material prices coupled with unprecedented delays
to tell them. in shipping. Also, operating across multiple international markets
In terms of social media and how this is utilised, work is being creates many challenges due to the different regulations, taxation and
undertaken on a complete evolution to the group’s digital marketing government rules. With all of these challenges, we have to maintain
strategy in 2023 to present a complete ecosystem solution that can our value proposition to consumers. It is a tough battle for all retailers
then be rolled out to each market in which they operate, accounting and we are constantly working to mitigate it. While there are a lot of
for different cultures and different needs across different markets. challenges to overcome, we remain optimistic for the future and what
Along with their social media presence, Tim Hortons is also it has in store,” Almekkawi concludes.

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