Ask yourself this simple question: How often you end up wasting food every single time you eat? Very often? Often? Occasionally? Well, the answer, ideally, ought to be ‘never’. And Wa'hab is helping people do that, precisely. Never waste food.

One of the newest additions to the ninth edition of the Qatar International Food Festival (QIFF) is the participation of Qatar Business Incubation Centre (QBIC) lean start-up winner Wa'hab. The announcement of Wa'hab's involvement -- which had it soft launch at last year's QIFF -- was made last week by the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA).

QIFF 2018, which will run until March 25, features over 177 stalls, food trucks, and trolleys. Their mouthful of offerings includes hotels and embassies showcasing the best of what they've got for the festival's entire 11-day run. While these participating food outlets sell a variety of mouth-watering delicacies to QIFF's raving crowd, Wa'hab -- the first company in Qatar that aims to reduce food wastage -- will be collecting surplus food daily, to be packaged and delivered to people throughout Doha.

"Last year, it was through QIFF that we had put to test this idea. It brings tears of joy to look back and reflect on how much we have been blessed in one year, Alhamdulillah! I remember running around food stalls asking if they would donate surplus food the first time, and then one volunteer, and now we are overwhelmed by volunteer requests," shared the co-founder and director, Shahid Abdusalam.

Director of Marketing & Communications Kim Wyatt added: "Our soft inauguration last year at QIFF was met with fantastic feedback from vendors and foodies. Now we feel that QIFF 2018 is the perfect event to relaunch our new logo and branding theme to the public."

Helping Wa'hab accomplish their daily tasks are 'Food Heroes' -- Wa'hab's team of dedicated volunteers. The food heroes assist with food collections and general support throughout the festival. And, there is a designated area for packaging and distribution of surplus food.

Wa'hab's new logo reflects their core values with their main image -- which is a tree -- showing the colours of the four seasons. Operations Director Dr. Ramees Kakkodan said that tree represents the environment, which they are here to protect and assist.

"Volunteers are the most important part of Wa’hab. We even re-branded our logo to emphasise their importance in the company," Dr. Kakkodan noted, while adding that the response they have got so far is overwhelming, especially seeing the public's interest to participate as food heroes.

Abdusalam feels delighted to see that the food stalls at QIFF are more aware of Wa'hab's presence now making them less apprehensive on donating their surplus food.

"The great thing about having our own tent is... we may not realise it, but in the middle of a huge giant festival, there might still be others who cannot afford to buy themselves a meal. We have had some needy people who have approached us for some free food, and this makes QIFF an all-inclusive event, it’s not just about food; it’s about how food brings people together that makes this event so wonderful!"

Kim added that they are committed to reducing the environmental and societal impact of food wastage in Qatar and the team appreciates the public's ongoing support and encouragement for Wa'hab.

Also, Wa'hab would like to publicly thank Eid Charity Qatar and Hifz Alnema for their continued collaboration and support for this year's QIFF!

To know more about Wa'hab, visit their stall at QIFF daily from 4:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. or check out their contact details below!

About Wa'hab:

Website: https://www.wahab.qa
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wahab...
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/waha...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/wahab_qa?l...
Email: [email protected]

Have you tried visiting Wa'hab's stall at #QIFF2018 yet? Or maybe you're one of its food heroes? Whatever your role is in the food festival, it's always essential to finish your food to avoid wastage -- let's stay true to Wa'hab's golden vision! Drop us a line in the comments below and don't forget to like and share this article!

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Sonkie

Content writer

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