Lebanese expat bakes up a healthy business in Tripoli

At the worn-out Bou Khalil mall on the edge of Lebanon’s northern capital of Tripoli, Soumaya Merhi makes wheat-free baked goods for clients across Lebanon. Bread Basket is creating a demand for modern healthy products in a largely traditional market. She also hopes to educate the public about healthy eating, something she believes is lacking in the region.

Merhi, who spent eight years living in Montreal, working in organic food and baking before returning to her native Tripoli to open her own business amid hard times for the city two years ago.

She has six employees from some of the city’s poorest areas that see occasional armed clashes. The business is now rapidly growing, and she expects to reach around $500,000 in revenue by next year and eventually become a niche brand of organic baked goods for the MENA region.

At the end of the summer, she plans on launching a gluten-free line, thus completing her collection of healthy baked goods of cookies, flat bread and energy bars.

Wamda: Why did you did you decide to open your business in Tripoli?

Soumaya Merhi: I come from Tripoli. It never even occurred to me to open in Beirut. I wanted to have a bakery and an accessible product in Lebanon. I wanted to create a competitive national product. I don’t understand why we don’t have local fresh products. There’s a difference between a fresh biscuit and one that’s three months old.

I want the products to be Lebanese friendly. This isn’t a French bakery. It’s still Arab. I make maamoul [the date or pistachio-filled cookies]. I take the recipes and give them a twist.

I have an innovative product that I distribute all over Lebanon from a run-down mall in Tripoli.

Original article by Brooke Anderson

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Lebanese expat bakes up a healthy business in Tripoli