Shakeaway outlet dream realised
The Shakeaway milkshake bar which opened in Muscat Grand Mall offers a minimum of 180 flavours which can be combined and served hot or cold
MUSCAT: An eight-year dream came true for Omani businesswoman Amina Al Zadjali on Friday night when her franchise of the British milkshake bar Shakeaway opened in Muscat Grand Mall.
Al Zadjali, GM of Bandera Group, tried her first Shakeaway milkshake when she was a student in Bournemouth, England and was immediately hooked. From then on she began emailing the company to see if she could bring it to Oman.
“It was eight years ago that I had my first milkshake and I fell in love with it and the full concept. I emailed them from the first milk shake and I’ve been emailing them every year,” Al Zadjali explained, adding that she finally got a response five years ago and two and half years ago began planning the first location in Oman.
Shakeaway’s CEO, Peter Dickson, said the company gets about 400 franchise requests a month but they are very particular about their partners. He liked Al Zadjali’s commitment to the brand, which is why it is now open in Muscat.
“For us the selection process is really about looking for people that really love it and understand it, but that are family-based. We’re a family brand so we do business on a person level,” Dickson said.
The Shakeaway concept is unique. The milkshake bar offers a minimum of 180 flavours which can be combined all kinds of ways and served hot or cold, with ice cream or yogurt as the base.
Now open in seven countries, Shakeaway also localises its menus so here in Oman there are famil- iar flavours. Approximately 35 to 40 per cent of the menus are localised, Dickson said.
Omani ingredients include dates, date mahmoul, Omani kahwa, Omani helwa and Nabil cookies, to name a few.
“It’s actually Shakeaway Oman and it’s different from Shakeaway Mexico or Shakeaway California,” said Dickson, who has tried all the Omani flavours himself.
The brand has been warmly welcomed in Oman. The launch on Friday evening saw long lineups of people waiting for their customised shakes which can include flavours such as Twix, Skittles, Cadbury Creme Eggs, strawberry, apple pie or pre-made combinations such as the most popular, Dave, which combines Ferrero Rocher, Kinder Bueno and Flake chocolates. There is even one called the Millionaire which has 23 carat gold flakes on it.
Customers in Oman quickly picked up on the idea of making their own unique combinations, added Paul Prince, Global Retail Director of Shakeaway.
“Amazingly on the first night we had several requests for three or four products [in one milkshake]. That doesn’t usually happen that quickly but here the locals are getting the hang of it,” Prince said.
Dickson says one of the attractions of Shakeaway is that it is a very emotive product. People can relive old memories and favourite childhood treats through the shakes.
“The ingredients are generally globally famous, well-known, some of them over 100 years old, billions spent on advertising, and we’re using their product to turn it into a milkshake that tastes like that product, and the customer chooses what they want to do,” he explained.
Al Zadjali has high expectations for Shakeaway in Oman. She said the first few nights were very busy and she already has a few other potential locations in mind, though it’s too early to share details.
“I am very happy. It’s an eightyear dream and two and half years of work and we’re finally here,” she said.