Australian Festival 2018 kicks off at LuLu outlets

LuLu Group, in co-operation with the Australian embassy, has launched the Australian Festival 2018 at its outlets in Qatar. In a press statement yesterday, the Group said it has been conducting the festival in other places for many years, and this is the first time that the initiative has been brought to the Qatar region.  Australian ambassador Dr Axel Wabenhorst launched the festival at LuLu Hypermarket — Al Messila yesterday. The inaugural ceremony was also attended by officials from the Australian embassy, Yara Elsergany and Lamees Shaat, members of the Qatar Australia and New Zealand Business Association (Qanzba), Mohamed Althaf, director of LuLu Group International, and several other dignitaries from various sectors.The festival is being held at LuLu outlets in the country until February 12.In his inaugural speech, Dr Wabenhorst commended the efforts made by LuLu Group in highlighting and promoting Australian food and other products in its stores. He was impressed with the supporting point-of-sale materials utilised in-store, and noted that beef and lamb were among the main items exported to Qatar from Australia. He also pointed out that there has been a significant increase in the export of livestock from Australia in recent months.Students of King’s College Doha and Compass International School Doha (Nord Anglia Education) were also present at the inaugural ceremony. The King’s College Doha students performed an iconic song from Australia to mark the occasion. Live cooking sessions by a chef from Meat & Livestock Australia have been organised at every LuLu outlet during the festival, the statement notes.The festival showcases major product lines that are directly imported from Australia.  The important categories include fresh meat, cheese, olives, free-range eggs, muesli bars, bread, varieties of milk and milk products, organic baby foods, sauce, cake mix, honey, fresh/frozen fruits and vegetables, etc. The festival also highlights specialties and delights such as Aussie burgers and other popular Australian dishes at the hot food counters. While Australian products have been available in LuLu stores for a long time, this promotional campaign “endeavours to promote a wide range of Australian products and augment sales by increasing the extent of imports”, the statement explains. Halal-certified food is of growing importance in the trade between Qatar and Australia, leading to the launch of specialised Halal-certification bodies in Australia. These governing bodies have been created to monitor, supervise and certify all products imported to Qatar.