New markets for quality food: the case of Gourmet Egypt's record stock market debut

Made in Italy food (and not only) still has ample room for growth, especially if it is able to penetrate new markets (frontiers towards which operators are also being pushed by US tariffs and stagnating consumption in the more traditional outlet countries).

This is an assumption that is certainly not without foundation, but which is often 'abstract', and sceptics point out that while it is true that in markets such as Asia or Africa elites of consumers ready to spend on quality products are growing, these still weigh very little on the total exports (at record levels and which, with the agreements with the Mercosur and with the India, could grow further). But we have to start somewhere, and in some markets there are concrete signs that the interest of new consumers is alive and well.

This is illustrated, for example, by the case of the online high-end grocery shop and platform Gourmet Egypt: according to Bloomberg reports, 'its shares increased by up to 38 per cent on their debut on the Egyptian stock exchange, in the country's first public offering of the year'. Gourmet Egypt's shares traded at a high of 9.5 Egyptian pounds ($0.20) each in early trading. The company sold the shares at £6.9 each and Gourmet raised around £1.3bn in the IPO.

Another pill of confidence for Italian exporters is that this is not something that came out of nowhere: the listing comes some 20 years after the company opened in Egypt. Gourmet sells high quality food, including Italian fruit and vegetables, Italian and European cheeses, foie gras, beef Angus and European cheeses, to the country's affluent population. In recent years, it has also expanded its business to a globally expanding sector such as 'ready to eat' and ready-to-eat meals that it produces in its own kitchens and developed the 'Made by Gourmet' brand.

More generally, the Egyptian stock market seems to be buoyant in other sectors as well: according to Bloomberg, "Egyptian Stock Exchange officials expect a rise in listings this year, after the country's benchmark index has risen 68% in the past 12 months. The president of the stock exchange told Al Arabiya Business in December that he expects eight listings this year'.