It’s hard to look at the history of Kibsons, the UAE-based grocer and fresh-produce distributor, without being struck by its impressive growth story.
From a humble start in 1982 in Dubai’s fruit and vegetable market, the family-run business has grown into a trusted home-delivery leader across the UAE, with a workforce of 1,500, around 150,000 online orders a month, and annual turnover of US$100m, all powered by a culture that puts quality, value and community first.
‘My mum raised me to value time and I spend it wisely’
Home-grown
The architect of Kibsons’ home-delivery journey, and the company’s first CEO, is UAE-born and raised Halima Jumani FCCA. Her distinguishing characteristic, she says, is a strong sense of direction. At the age of 17, she charted a route through education that would enable her to qualify with ACCA by the age of 21. ‘I think the one word that defines me is focused,’ she explains. ‘My mum raised me to value time and I spend it wisely.’
CV
2021
CEO, Kibsons International
2007
Director of operations, Kibsons International
2005
Six Sigma Black Belt, General Electric, Dubai
2003
Project analyst, Barclays Global Investors, UK
1998
Auditor, KPMG, Dubai
‘We started with 300 stock-keeping units. Now we offer 20,000’
After five years in audit and assurance at KPMG Dubai and two years in the UK gaining finance experience and an MBA from London Business School, Halima joined GE and trained as a Six Sigma Black Belt, leading multiple pilot projects across EMEA. She then chose to bring that operational excellence back home to Kibsons, her husband’s family business, which was then centred on the wholesale fresh-produce market.
Applying a finance-first lens, Halima saw an opportunity: if Kibsons could connect directly with households, it could deliver even better quality and value while building lasting relationships.
Over two years, she automated core processes, scrutinised inventory levels and waste control, and mulled the company’s value proposition of being top for quality and price, ultimately refining it around freshness, affordability and care.
From scratch
When the pandemic struck in March 2020, Halima and a small team began with a simple spreadsheet, delivering groceries at cost to friends and family. The idea took off and, nourished by word-of-mouth, grew into a movement.
‘It’s been an incredible journey,’ she says. ‘We started with maybe 300 stock-keeping units on our Excel spreadsheet. Today, we offer close to 20,000 products.’
An order management and demand planning system cut wastage from 6% to 1%
Within a few months, orders had reached 7,000 deliveries a day. To cope with the increased demand, the company added more than 400 colleagues, scaled capacity and, crucially, held prices steady during a time of uncertainty. The loyalty generated among customers was remarkable, and the spirit was just as strong inside the business.
‘Nobody took a single day off – not because I asked them, but because we all understood that the pandemic was a time of emergency,’ Halima says. ‘The community needed us.’
Then in August 2020, a gas leak at the warehouse threatened to derail progress, forcing the evacuation of the facility and disposal of all stock. Halima and her teams went into overdrive to reset operations, and seven days and a full deep clean later, Kibsons was fully restocked and able to resume operations. Throughout the upheaval, daily communication via Instagram kept the community informed of progress. ‘The day we reopened, our sales were higher than ever,’ Halima recalls.
Tech transformation
Since then, she has continued to streamline the business, developing an order management and demand planning system that has cut wastage from 6% to around 1%. She is also optimising processes with artificial intelligence (AI), introducing a last-mile system that has cut fleet costs by around 20%. More than the numbers, Halima is proud of the ‘change mindset’ that now runs through Kibsons – continuous improvement in service to customers and community.
Kibsons in numbers
1982
Year founded
US$100m
Annual turnover
1,500
Employees
150,000
Online orders per month
20,000
Unique items on offer on the home delivery website
Growth brings with it responsibility, and Halima embraces it. ‘Every time I move a payroll out, I’m conscious that it’s having a positive impact in the community – in the lives of our pickers, drivers and all our staff,’ she says. ‘They share stories about school fees, medical expenses and making homes. That really motivates me.’
In October 2021, she briefly stepped back to prioritise family, returning to the business a year later with renewed focus. Since then, she has restructured four departments and accelerated technology and AI initiatives – amid rising global costs and a more competitive landscape with new regional and global entrants. ‘This has been our year of profitability and streamlined operations,’ she says. ‘I’m incredibly proud of that.’
And Kibsons is aiming even higher as it pushes towards zero avoidable waste, 100% solar-powered sites, a circular water system, advanced forecasting and logistics that feel personal at national scale.
Sometimes, Halima admits, she asks herself whether she has a life outside of work. ‘Then I go home, see how grounded my children are, and I’m reminded of my “why” – we’re building something that serves families, including my own.’
