"The Middle East is where high margins meet high expectations. Customers there have money, but they also have very specific requirements. Get the voltage wrong, or skip a certification, and your shipment will sit in customs for months."
I'll never forget our first shipment to Saudi Arabia. It was 2020, during COVID. A customer in Riyadh ordered three dough dividers and a rotary oven. We were excited — our first Middle East order. We shipped it, paid the freight, and waited.
And waited. And waited.
The shipment sat in Jeddah port for 47 days. Why? Because we didn't have a SASO certificate (Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization). The customer couldn't clear customs without it. We had to apply for the certificate retroactively, which cost us $1,200 and three weeks of stress. We lost money on that order. But we learned a valuable lesson.
Six years later, the Middle East is one of our most profitable markets. Here's what we've learned about each country.
Saudi Arabia accounts for about 40% of our Middle East sales. The bakery industry there is massive — Saudis love bread. Flatbread, pita, samoon, khubz — bread is a staple of every meal. And with Vision 2030 pushing for economic diversification and tourism, the food service industry is booming.
But Saudi Arabia is also the most regulated market in the Middle East. Every piece of electrical equipment needs a SASO certificate. Every shipment needs a Certificate of Origin. And if you're shipping food processing equipment, you might need additional certifications from the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA).
One thing that surprised us about Saudi customers: they care a lot about aesthetics. They want machines that look modern and professional. We had a customer in Jeddah who rejected a shipment because the paint color was slightly different from the sample. He said it didn't match his bakery's decor. We had to repaint the machines at our cost. Now we always send a painted metal sample for customer approval before mass production.
Another thing: Saudi customers prefer to deal with Arabic-speaking salespeople. We have an Arabic-speaking salesperson now, and our Saudi sales doubled within six months. If you can't hire an Arabic speaker, at least translate your website and product catalogs into Arabic. Google Translate doesn't cut it — get a professional translation, preferably from someone who understands bakery terminology.
The UAE — specifically Dubai — is the commercial hub of the Middle East. Every major bakery equipment brand has a presence there. European brands like Bongard, MIWE, and WP have showrooms in Dubai. Chinese manufacturers are also well-represented. The competition is fierce.
But here's the thing: most of the equipment sold in Dubai doesn't stay in Dubai. It gets re-exported to other Middle Eastern countries, Africa, and South Asia. Dubai is a trading hub. Many of our "UAE customers" are actually traders who buy equipment from us and resell it in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, and East Africa.
The UAE market is price-sensitive because customers have so many options. You can't compete on price alone — there's always someone cheaper. We compete on quality, reliability, and after-sales service. We have a service partner in Dubai who can provide on-site support and spare parts. This gives us an advantage over Chinese suppliers who only sell equipment and disappear after the sale.
One tip for the UAE market: attend Gulfood Manufacturing. It's the biggest food manufacturing exhibition in the Middle East, held every year in Dubai. We've been exhibiting there since 2022, and we get most of our Middle East leads from the show. It's expensive — a booth costs about $15,000 — but it's worth it. You meet customers face-to-face, build relationships, and get orders on the spot.
Egypt has 110 million people — the most populous country in the Arab world. Bread consumption is among the highest in the world — Egyptians eat bread with every meal. The government subsidizes bread, so there's a huge demand for bakery equipment.
But Egypt is also the most price-sensitive market in the Middle East. The Egyptian pound has devalued significantly in recent years, making imported equipment very expensive. Most Egyptian bakery owners can't afford European brands. They're looking for affordable, reliable Chinese equipment.
The biggest challenge with Egypt is payment. The Egyptian government has strict currency controls, so customers can't easily send money abroad. Most orders are paid by L/C at sight through Egyptian banks. The L/C process is slow and bureaucratic — it can take 2-3 weeks just to get the L/C issued. And Egyptian banks charge high fees.
But despite these challenges, Egypt is a growing market for us. We've seen an increase in orders from government bakery suppliers who are upgrading their equipment. The Egyptian government is investing heavily in the bakery sector to meet the demand for subsidized bread. These government contracts are large — sometimes 50-100 machines at a time — but they require a lot of paperwork and patience.
Qatar is a small country — only 3 million people — but it's one of the richest countries in the world per capita. The bakery market is small, but the customers have deep pockets. They want the best equipment, and they're willing to pay for it.
Most of our Qatari customers are hotels and high-end restaurants. Doha has dozens of 5-star hotels, and they all need bakery equipment. These customers care about quality, reliability, and after-sales service. They don't haggle over price — they just want the best.
The challenge with Qatar is the certification requirement. Qatar has its own standards body (QS), and all electrical equipment needs QS certification. The certification process is expensive — about $2,000 per product type — and takes 4-6 weeks. But once you have the certification, the market is relatively easy to enter because there's less competition than in Saudi Arabia or the UAE.
One thing I'll say about Qatari customers: they expect fast service. If a machine breaks down, they want it fixed within 24 hours. We have a service partner in Doha who can provide on-site support. This is essential — if you can't provide after-sales service in Qatar, you won't get repeat business.
Every Middle Eastern country has its own certification requirements. Saudi Arabia needs SASO, UAE needs ECAS, Qatar needs QS, Egypt needs GOEIC. Get the certification wrong, and your shipment will sit in customs for weeks or months. We now have a full-time employee who handles nothing but certifications. It's expensive, but it's cheaper than having shipments stuck in customs.
When we first started selling to the Middle East, we only had English-speaking salespeople. We struggled. Once we hired an Arabic speaker, our sales tripled. Middle Eastern customers prefer to communicate in Arabic, even if they speak English. It's a cultural thing — they feel more comfortable doing business in their native language. If you can't hire an Arabic speaker, at least translate your website and product manuals.
This seems obvious, but you'd be surprised how many suppliers get it wrong. Saudi Arabia uses 60Hz, while most other Middle Eastern countries use 50Hz. The UAE uses 220V/415V, while Qatar uses 240V/415V. Get this wrong and your machine won't work — or worse, it will cause a fire. We now have a checklist that every order must go through before shipping. The checklist includes voltage, frequency, plug type, and certification requirements.
Middle Eastern customers value after-sales service more than any other market we've dealt with. They want to know that if something breaks, someone will come and fix it. We have service partners in Riyadh, Dubai, Doha, and Cairo. These partners provide on-site support, spare parts, and training. It costs us money, but it's worth it — our repeat customer rate in the Middle East is over 60%, which is higher than any other region.
Middle Eastern business culture is very relationship-based. You can't just send a quote and expect an order. You need to build trust, meet face-to-face, and show that you're committed to the market. We visit the Middle East at least twice a year — once for Gulfood Manufacturing in Dubai, and once for customer visits in Saudi Arabia and Qatar. These visits have resulted in some of our biggest orders. Be patient, invest in relationships, and the orders will come.
We're very bullish on the Middle East. Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 is driving massive investment in tourism, hospitality, and food service. The UAE continues to be a trading hub for the entire region. Egypt's population is growing, and the government is investing in the bakery sector. Qatar is preparing for more international events after the success of the 2022 World Cup.
One trend we're seeing: more and more customers are asking for automated production lines. Labor costs in the Middle East are rising, and there's a shortage of skilled bakery workers. Customers want machines that can operate with minimal labor. We're investing in R&D to make our machines more automated, with PLC controls, touch screens, and recipe memory.
Another trend: energy efficiency. Electricity costs in the Middle East are rising, and customers are looking for machines that use less power. Our new rotary oven uses 30% less energy than our previous model, and it's become our bestseller in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. We're also developing solar-powered bakery equipment for off-grid locations — there's a lot of demand for this in rural areas of Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
We have SASO, ECAS, and QS certifications. We know the voltage requirements, the customs procedures, and the local regulations. We have service partners in Riyadh, Dubai, Doha, and Cairo. Let us help you avoid the mistakes we made.
Get a Free Quote →If you're a bakery owner in the Middle East and you're reading this, I'd love to hear from you. What's the biggest challenge you're facing with your equipment? What certifications have you had trouble with? Drop me an email or a WhatsApp message — I read every message personally.
And if you're a fellow equipment manufacturer thinking about entering the Middle East market — my advice is simple: get the certifications first, hire an Arabic speaker, and find a local service partner. Do these three things, and you'll be ahead of 90% of the Chinese suppliers trying to enter the market.
About the author: Lucas Yang is the founder of HNH Bakery Equipment, a China-based manufacturer and exporter of commercial bakery equipment. Over the past 7 years, he has personally visited customers in 12 countries across the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia. He writes about real experiences from the field — not textbook theory.
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