A new launch in Dubai’s City Walk is ready to satisfy the UAE's sweetest of teeth.
Sweet Surprises opened on May 9, as a one-stop shop for confectionery, desserts and local treats, offered within a high-end, luxe space.
The store comprises 12 Instagram-founded businesses that are each popular in their own right. Visitors will be able to purchase gourmet, eccentrically flavoured popcorn (think rose and marble cake) from Let’s Popcorn, local dates from Tamer Art, chocolate pretzels from Soulsnacks or Turkish baklava and ice cream from Hakiki.
Other brands present at the store include Afamia Gourmet, Fruit Cake, Madame Choux, Manuka Wellbeing, Molten Chocolate, Salud, Special Events and Zo’s Kitchen.
For a look at some of the sweet treats, scroll through the gallery above.
Of the 12 brands, seven are home-grown while the remaining, with the exception of New Zealand's Manuka Wellbeing, are regional.
Lena Kurban Rouhana, owner of Soulsnacks, says the brand sees many key advantages to having a physical space as well as an online presence.
“Although e-commerce and online sales are an important aspect of retail businesses, offering customers a physical presence that communicates our brand aesthetics is critical to telling our story.”
Mazen Ghasham, owner of Kuwait brand Let's Popcorn, says: "While online business is already thriving, locating ourselves at one of the most popular retail destinations in Dubai is a good opportunity for customers to easily try our popcorn and experience our brand the way we want them to."
In addition to satiating that sweet tooth, the store will also be offering decoration, entertainment and catering services for people looking to host a celebration.
THE%20HOLDOVERS
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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Places to go for free coffee
- Cherish Cafe Dubai, Dubai Investment Park, are giving away free coffees all day.
- La Terrace, Four Points by Sheraton Bur Dubai, are serving their first 50 guests one coffee and four bite-sized cakes
- Wild & The Moon will be giving away a free espresso with every purchase on International Coffee Day
- Orange Wheels welcome parents are to sit, relax and enjoy goodies at ‘Café O’ along with a free coffee
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
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Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
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How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
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West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Key facilities
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- 600-seat auditorium
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Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
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Plastic tipping point
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Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
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Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
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