Member of the Month
Congratulations to Dina Foods, CBA member of the month for October 2024.
The CBA have been impressed with Dina’s innovation on products, for being an award winning family run business and of course for the continuous long-standing support to the Craft Bakers.
Dina Foods specialises in producing authentic handmade Mediterranean foods, including a wide selection of artisan wholemeal, white and seeded flatbreads, as well as savouries and confectionery.
The London-based manufacturing company, established in 1992, is privately owned and operated by the three Haddad brothers and is based in Park Royal, London.
Dina Foods was founded in 1992 by the Haddad brothers, Amin, Suheil, Samir and Fadi. Ever since then, Dina Foods has been a family run business where the Haddad brothers continue to put their passion for food and feeding the masses into their vocation. Family is in the essence of the business and is an integral part of its foundation. So much so, the business was actually named after one of Suheil’s daughters, Dina.
Even to this day, with over 200 employees and the Dina Foods products being sold across the UK and in 18 European countries, the Haddad family continues to work together to succeed in their goal of producing high quality and authentic Lebanese products for consumers.
The Haddad brothers have always been passionate about food but their careers in the food industry began several decades prior. After arriving in the UK in the 1970s and early 80s, the Haddad brothers were inspired to bring their own roots to the UK and open a Lebanese restaurant in 1980 called Fakhreldine in Mayfair. It very quickly became the place to eat for authentic and tantalising Lebanese food. It attracted many esteemed visitors over the years and through word-of-mouth, the restaurant became a destination venue. The main unique qualities of the restaurant were: the welcoming hospitality where the guests would be made to feel like a part of the family, and also the generosity, quality and authenticity of the food, which included freshly baked Lebanese bread produced on-site in the bespoke oven. One bite left the guests wanting more!
It is from here that their vision for Dina Foods was born and soon after opening their restaurant, they established Dina Foods with the goal of producing traditional Lebanese flatbreads (known as khobez), baklawa and savoury products. As Dina Foods started expanding, the Haddad brothers transitioned from being restaurateurs to running Dina Foods full time. Their vision was to be able to deliver the flavours of the Middle East straight to consumers’ homes. The brothers have always had the goal of delivering credible Mediterranean flavours, based on the time-honoured recipes that have been handed down over generations, whilst making sure they are delivering the highest quality products.
Having first operated in Hackney, London, in 1999 (having become apparent that Dina Foods had outgrown its capabilities in that site) it relocated to Park Royal, London. From here, the product range across the three manufacturing sites evolved (namely bakery, savoury and confectionery) to offer a wider array of products. In addition, Dina Foods has continued to grow which has resulted with further investment in new premises to cater for the growing demand. What started off as a small family business, has now become a leader in supplying a client base both nationally and internationally employing in excess of 200 members of staff.
Dina Foods combines a heritage steeped in Mediterranean traditions and original family recipes, with a strong focus on new product development to create innovative products which are unique in the market place. Carefully selected ingredients are sourced from established suppliers both in the UK and overseas, focusing on the provenance of the ingredients.
Dina Foods holds BRC Grade AA+ for its manufacturing sites, is SEDEX registered and has registered 15 products from the savoury rage with the Vegan Society. The Company utilises skilled production techniques and specialised manufacturing capabilities that are adapted to enable scaled production whilst maintaining its artisanal qualities.
This has not been a seamless journey and the company has managed to see through the various economic downturns. Through the combination of good credibility, established relationships with ingredient suppliers, experience and dedication of the Haddad brothers, they managed to see through these difficulties to continue with their path to success.
The second generation of the family is now working within the business. The longevity of the staff at Dina Foods and the excellent staff retention figures is a testament to the exemplary leadership skills of the Directors. Senior staff members have been with the business on average for 20 years. Staff within the business are encouraged to upskill and receive training to allow them to progress in their career within the organisation.
Dina Foods is aiming for Carbon neutrality – achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions – by 2030. Dina Foods was selected to take part in London’s Better Futures+ programme, which has helped it fast-track its environmental ambitions and progress towards planning for our net zero target. Over the past few years, we have implemented various initiatives to achieve our goal.
Products and Manufacturing
Over the years, the Dina Foods bakery business has evolved into manufacturing a diverse range of flatbreads, which have proved ideal for sandwich manufacturers and the food-to-go industry. At the heart of the bakery business remains the company’s flat pocket breads in the form of traditional pitta breads and the unique Lebanese thin flat pocket bread “Khobez”, which Dina Foods branded and trademarked as Paninette®. Paninette® offers a unique feature as it is a soft, versatile and relatively thin flat bread. It can be used as a wrap for an array of sandwich fillings (both sweet and savoury), it can also be opened up to make a convenient pocket for various fillings or used flat as a pizza base. It is considered to be a light bread both in terms of the initial bite into the product and its subsequent digestion. Paninette® uses a bespoke flour mix and baked in a stone oven to create this unique two-layer flatbread. This gives a light and delicate texture and a soft, flexible bread, which is presented in a disc shape. Consistent high quality and uniformity of the final product is the key quality control criteria across all the production lines.
Specially adapted baking equipment and baking ovens together with tailor made and strictly adhered to line checking procedures ensure that each and every product is baked and delivered to as close as possible characteristics (content and aesthetics) of its authentic and traditional origin. The Paninette® range includes breads made from white flour or wholemeal, as well as different sizes to meet customer demand. Seasonal variations can include fusions of sourdough, herbs de Provence, chilli, oregano or garlic. Consumers are delighted with the versatility of this bread. So much so that they frequently share on social media recipes they have created using it. Paninette® is certainly the Dina Foods hero product and now accounts for 60% of the bakery sales. It can be purchased from a number of retailers, such as Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Booths and Farm Foods.
In the summer 2024 the entire Khobez/Paninette® line received an upgrade this year with the introduction of a new dough sheeter, proofers, dough dividers, oven, cooling system and fully automatic stacker which are entirely exclusive to Dina Foods. The output has increased from 5,000 pieces per hour to 9,000 pieces per hour. The increased efficiency on this line is +/-90%, with improved quality products, more energy efficient and full automation of the line.
Dina Foods also manufactures an array of other flatbreads, such as Chapattis, Naans, pizza bases, Lavash, Tannour®, etc. as well as our speciality pitta bread range under the Tasty Goodnes® brand, which focuses on healthy eating positioning as it uses natural seeds as sources of health and vitality.
Dina Foods’s products are supplied under the Dina brand and as private label to a range of high-profile customers across a significant number of end-markets including retail, food service, food manufacture and food-to-go. The high-levels of customer satisfaction and tailored delivery of made-to-order products, is evidenced by the long-term, established relationships which have been maintained both in the UK and overseas.
Dina Foods has a confectionery bakery that produces Baklawa, a pastry product. Dina Foods was the first company to introduce it to the British retail market during the 1990’s. Apart from various innovations relating to packaging and presentation of the product, Dina Foods’s Baklawa has been successful in maintaining the product formula and aesthetics, including the 42 thin layers of filo pastry which cover the fillers. Dina Foods now creates over 30 varieties of baklawa, which include the traditional options and a selection of innovative variants, e.g. chocolate coated baklawa.
The confectionery department produces around 150 kilos of filo pastry an hour and packs 5780 kilos of baklawa a day.
Dina Foods was the first company in the UK to supply Baklawa to supermarkets and now our products can be found in restaurants, cafés, supermarket chains, airlines and wholesalers, not only in the UK and Ireland but around Europe as well. As a result, the company has been instrumental in popularising baklawa and Lebanese bread in the UK and European market. Consumers can purchase it from Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Morrisons, Booths and Costco.
In the last three years, the company has invested nearly £1 million of CAPEX and there are further CAPEX plans for 2024/25.
Awards
1995 Received First Place award from The British Sandwich Association for New Product of the Year.
2011 Dina Snack Pack Baklawa achieves “Highly Commended” by the Q Quality Food Awards and was placed runner-up in the Chocolate and Confectionery section.
2021 Shortlisted in the Bakery Manufacturing Company of the Year category Food Manufacture Excellence Awards
2023 Winner of the West London Business Food & Drink Business of the Year & High Growth SME of the Year
2024 Highly Commended Food & Drink Business of the Year West London Business
2024 Winner of the Family Business United Food & Drink Company of the Year.
In 2022 Suheil Haddad was awarded with the Lifetime Achievement Award by West London Business and in 2024 he was awarded the same by family Business United.