Our history

Over 85 years of achievement

Zainal Mohebi Holdings traces its roots back to our founder’s father, Baqer Mohebi, who established his food outlet in the original Dubai Souk in 1931. It was one of only 15 shops.

Guiding principles

From the start, Baqer Mohebi determined to be innovative and different. Service was paramount. He served his customers in numerous languages, sold at fixed prices, offered credit terms and arranged to meet their future requirements. These initiatives, along with the economic growth of the region, soon led to the expansion of his food and services business.

Moving into a specialty niche

By the 1970s, as the UAE began to attract a multi-cultural population, Baqer Mohebi established a niche in specialty foods. He established Baqer Mohebi Enterprises (BME), which has become one of the UAE’s leading distribution and marketing networks for food and non-food products and tobacco products. BME attracted top brands seeking local expertise in order to penetrate Middle East markets.

Full support for international brands

Another major step was taken in the late 1990s when ZMH set up a joint venture with Keystone Foods (Martin Brower) for the exclusive distribution of food and beverage products to the McDonalds chain in the region. This was also the time when special air and sea freight management services were set up under STI Middle East to handle large volumes of cargo, as well as supply chain solutions on a global basis.

Tapping the travel and tourism market

With the UAE becoming a key travel destination, ZMH established Mohebi Aviation in 1995. In 1999 Mohebi Aviation set up its dedicated leisure travel division, Escapades, to market and promote competitively priced, exciting and innovative holiday packages to worldwide destinations.

Moving directly into the UAE’s retail arena

Building on its expertise in logistics, sales, distribution and marketing in the UAE, ZMH entered the retail market with Baqer Mohebi Supermarkets. The vision is to further develop the network as one of the major players within the UAE.

Throughout its decades of history, Zainal Mohebi Holdings has carefully navigated its expansion into a world class conglomerate by stressing attention to detail, customer service and professionalism. It has successfully retained the unique qualities and cohesion of a family-run business.

ZMH looks forward to many more generations of serving the UAE and the world at large.