Biscuit and cookies market in Iran

Biscuits are a very significant part of the industry in most countries of the world. The idea of making biscuits goes back to the Romans. Biscuits can be marketed to any consumer group. Whether young or old, male or female, nearly all consumers have at least tried a biscuit.

In Iran many different kind of biscuits are produced, thanks to the availability of various kind of local nuts (almond, walnut, pistachio) and spices (e.g. cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, saffron).

The value added of Biscuit and candy industry is very and its annual turnover is estimated over almost 4.7$ billion. Although more than 500 million dollars of these products was exported to 66 countries around the world in 2015, the number can exceed to 700$ million shortly.

Almost 65 thousand occupations directly are dependent on biscuit and candy industry excluding other related industries (e.g. flour, sugar and oil industries).

Thanks to the reopening of Iran market, more than 376 local and 76 international companies from 20 countries attended the Iranian biscuit and candy trade fair in September 2016.

History:

The first Iranian biscuit which gained a lot of interest and popularity in the market was produced by Vitara Company in 1958 which was branded as ‘Mother’, with the picture of a mother feeding her baby.

Digestive in domestic market:

It’s been a lot of interest in the market since several companies began to produce digestive biscuits in Iran about 10 years ago.

Anata, Minoo, Nadi, salemin and Jomaneh are the main players in digestive market in Iran. However, the majority of market share is controlled by ‘Saghe talaie’ (a product from Minoo’s food industry) which is an Iranian classic.

Production volume imports and exports:

The secretary of Iran biscuits, cookies and chocolate industry has announced that Iran’s annual production of digestive biscuits is estimated around 500,000 Kg from which Minoo Company produces 250,000 Kg per year. In despite of the presence of the world leading biscuit products such as ‘Danisa’, ‘Toffy’, ‘Lacker’, ‘Delux’, ‘ETI’ (which are much better than their Iranian competitors in the product range and packaging) in Iran, many consumers prefer to buy Iran-made products. There are 300 companies active in this field at the moment.

In the period of March to September 2016, approximately 22,000 tons of biscuits (39$ million) were exported to 38 countries around the world such as USA, England, China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Netherlands. Also, the most costumers are Iraq and Afghanistan.

In comparison, Iran imports different kind of biscuits every year and the value of imports exceeded 600$ million last year. So Iran is rather a big importer of biscuits.

Iranian producers’ position in global market:

Iranian biscuits companies are not very competitive in the global market because:

Although Iranian products have good quality, the packaging is not very interesting
Due to the instability of the supply of raw materials in Iran, the pricing is not very competitive in the global market

Iranian biscuits producers and locations:

Company name	City
Azar shahd	Urmia
Anata- Nejati industrial group	Tabriz
Ehsan	Tehran
Behnan- Kereshme Yazd	Yazd
Gorji biscuit	Tehran
Salamat biscuit	Isfahan
GilanGhoot	Rasht
Nakisa biscuit	Isfahan
SetareBereshteTalaie- Mishen biscuit	Sirjan
Salamat biscuit	Isfahan
SanazTalaie	Ilam
ShokouhShadab Jam	Qom
Shirin Novin	Tehran
PeymanLahijan	Lahijan
Abbaspour food industry	Tehran
Kimak food industry	Tehran
Nilou food industry	Tehran
Helali food industry	Tabriz
AzarnoushSetare	Tehran
Lop Lop	Karaj
Komaj Saba- Khoutka	Tehran
Keyvan	Tehran
Shirin Asal food industry	Tabriz
Gol Asal	Tabriz
Donyaye Shirin	Karaj
Gorouj	Amol
NaneRazavi	Mashhad
Vitana	Tehran

How to establish a biscuit facility in Iran:

After determining the location of the production unit, issued license will be assessed and if environmental considerations are met, license will be issued for one year.

Establishing a manufacturing plant requires a minimum of 120,000$ and 4 workforces should be employed.

The capital of Minoo Company (the biggest Iranian biscuit producer) is estimated approximately 30$ million.

Also, Iran can be considered a good target market for international companies to produce their products locally in Iran in order to export to the region (Middle east)

Risks and Threats: