Fredericton Startup Offers Halal Groceries And Meals Online
FREDERICTON – When Asad Khan and Sadia Asad moved to Fredericton from Dubai in June 2019, they had a hard time looking for halal food, i.e. food that’s permissible to a consumer under Islamic guidelines. That gave them the idea to start a new business.
Halal Station, an online grocery store for halal and southeast Asian products, was launched about two weeks ago, said Khan. It stemmed from an earlier startup called Simply Fresh, which offers ready-made halal meals. Simply Fresh is now integrated into Halal Station.
“When we landed here, we landed during the Ramadan period. We were struggling to get halal food,” said Khan. “Within the Muslim community, someone sent food to our hotel and we realized, ‘okay, let’s kick off the halal food startup here.’ So we launched the Simply Fresh cuisine.”
That was last September. But as traction grew for the meals – many locals and newcomers, as well as UNB students are loyal customers -the Pakistani couple also wanted to make life easier for people who, like them, consume halal products.
Khan researched the availability of online halal grocery stores in Canada and while there are some, he found that the Atlantic Canadian market isn’t very well penetrated yet.
And with Simply Fresh, the found that the meals weren’t just popular with newcomers or the Muslim community, but others as well.
“So I thought, let’s utilize that platform to start Halal Station,” he said.
Halal Station offers products like Dabur Amla hair oil and Roohafza syrup, among other things. It tries to differentiate itself from large retailers like Walmart, which has started carrying more international products in New Brunswick, by offering products that are generally only available in South Asian markets. They’re sourced from distributors in Ontario, mostly.
But in a few days, the couple plans to begin offering halal meats and local products like honey, eggs, and organic fruits and vegetables. Later, the couple plan to also offer kosher products, which not only cater to Jewish customers, but Muslim customers can often also consumer.
Usually, when the couple goes shopping, they use an app that can tell them what is halal and not halal, as not everything is clear in a Canadian grocery store. Certain yogurt products and candies like Skittles contain gelatin derived from pork, and that’s not halal.
“We do this background check properly…so people don’t go through the hassle of is it Halal or not halal? Is this something that we need to check? We do all the due diligence and bring that product.”
For now, Halal Station only caters to clients in Fredericton an offers free delivery or pick-up option. Customers can pay by Interac transfer, credit card or cash-on-delivery.
“Because there are families who are coming from outside [Fredericton] who don’t have cars. Students who are living in universities. They don’t have their own means for commuting. And during this pandemic time, the buses are not there or if they’re there, they’re limited,” Khan said. “So, we realized let’s do that. Let’s support the community.”
Khan, who is also the Lean Six Sigma lead at NBCC, was a mechanical engineer in Dubai, where he lived for about a decade. He’s made his way up the corporate ladder across various multinationals, from Toyota to Nielsen. But in 2018, he decided he wanted to become an entrepreneur and helped launch a couple of businesses in Dubai and Pakistan.
When Khan and his wife, who has an MBA, decided to move to Canada, entrepreneurship felt like the right path too. With little online offerings for halal food and products, the opportunity presented itself.
So far, Khan says the process of starting a business in New Brunswick has been “so simple.” And even though some people may think he’s crazy for starting a business during a pandemic, Khan believes a food business like Halal Station will survive because it’s essential.
“People always need to live, to eat something, to carry on their lives,” he said.
And with e-commerce, this is “the right time,” Khan said.
“People are not coming out. People are sensitive about their health. It’s not only in Fredericton, it’s across the world,” he said, adding that his friends and family in Dubai and Pakistan have also successfully launched online businesses.
As new immigrants, entrepreneurship is a way for him to contribute to the Canadian economy.
“The day that we landed, people are so helpful, welcoming, and we never felt that we are in a different part of the world. That gave us so much confidence and motivation that we can give back to the community,” Khan said. “That gives me excitement, that gives me a sigh of relief as well that I’m doing something. As we evolve, we can do more and take local talent into our business.”