- Morrisons marks five year partnership with Y International and Lulu Retail Group -
- Morrisons products now available in 260 stores across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) -
Morrisons has further strengthened its international presence by participating in the British Food Festival in Qatar, hosted by leading regional retailer Lulu Retail Group. Morrisons showcased the quality and breadth of its offer to customers across the Gulf region, supported by its strategic export partner - Y International UK Ltd.
The event, held across Lulu stores in Qatar, provided an immersive customer experience designed to celebrate the best of British food. Each participating store featured bespoke point of sale materials, British-themed displays and supplier sampling stands. Morrisons own label Mild Cheddar proved particularly popular, selling out during the festival.
Since launching in December 2019, Morrisons partnership with Y International, the sourcing and distribution subsidiary of Lulu Retail Group, has enabled the supermarket’s branded products to reach customers across all six GCC countries and a further seven regions in the Middle East. Qatar was the first market to trial the range and today, Morrisons products are available in 260 Lulu stores across the region.
Amina Shann, Wholesale Account Manager at Morrisons, said: “It was a privilege to represent Morrisons at the British Food Festival and connect directly with Lulu customers and store teams. These visits are invaluable for understanding local preferences and identifying growth opportunities. We are committed to building on this momentum by broadening our range and increasing our engagement with shoppers across the region.”
Nadeem Hashmi, Procurement Manager for FMCG Export at Y International, added: “Morrison’s own-label presence across the Lulu estate has contributed real value to our business where the same isn’t viewed as just a supermarket private label offering, but instead a quality brand incorporating a number of food categories from the UK - the reaction from our customer base to the Morrisons team was incredibly positive whilst we seek to maintain this momentum transmitted through on-going trade activation plans in further support of plugging the Morrisons brand right across our estate”
Simon Alexander, Regional Operations Manager at Lulu Retail Group, said: “Our annual British Food Week helps to promote culinary and cultural ties between the UK and Qatar. This year, on the back of the Qatari Emir’s State Visit to the UK and ahead of the much anticipated GCC wide UK Free Trade Agreement, we are seeking to grow British food exports exponentially into the whole region through Y International UK, our dedicated 170k sqm procurement and export centre in Birmingham. The centre is one of the first net positive distribution centres fully powered by renewable energy and we were proud to receive the Queen’s Award for International Trade. The partnership between Lulu and Morrisons has allowed us to develop the Morrisons brand to become the most familiar UK supermarket private label brand across the Middle East.”
The festival served as a pilot initiative and offered a platform to reinforce Morrisons brand positioning in the Gulf. Lulu Retail Group operates at scale across all GCC markets and is the leading supermarket retailer across the Middle East. This partnership has been instrumental in establishing strong brand recognition for Morrisons, with its own label Gold Coffee now performing as one of the bestselling UK exported coffees across the Lulu’s in the Middle East.
Looking ahead, Morrisons plans to extend its footprint in the region by increasing both its product range and store presence, working closely with Y International, Lulu and the British Embassy to ensure local relevance and continued growth.