As World Food Day brings global attention to hunger, nutrition and the challenges facing food systems, the story of one UAE-founded food brand traces back to a similar question closer to home: how can the region make better use of its own food resources while creating more sustainable and nutritious options for the future?
For Emirati entrepreneur Rashid Gargash, that question began as a research project exploring food security and sustainable nutrition in the Middle East. It eventually led to the creation of Rashtions, a UAE-made nutrition brand built around locally familiar ingredients including dates and camel milk.
World Food Day, established by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1979 and first observed in 1981, is marked annually on 16 October to raise awareness of global hunger and food-related challenges. This year’s theme, “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow,” places a particular focus on the role of innovation, science, entrepreneurship and traditional knowledge in shaping more resilient food systems.
The theme reflects an idea that has been central to Gargash’s work from the beginning. His initial research examined the UAE’s agricultural realities, including desalination, groundwater challenges and the availability of local food resources. As part of this work, he identified dates and camel milk among the region’s accessible and established ingredients and began exploring how they could be developed into a modern food product.
Rather than beginning with a conventional consumer product concept, the work developed through research, formulation and testing. Gargash worked alongside food scientists and researchers to investigate how the ingredients could be combined into a product that offered nutritional value while remaining relevant to contemporary eating habits.
That process ultimately resulted in Rashtions, which combines dates, camel milk and ghee into a range of protein-rich snacks. The products are developed and made in the UAE and are available in Date Truffle, Cocoa Truffle, Brazilian Coffee Truffle and Date Original varieties. The range provides up to 20 grams of protein per 80-gram serving and is made without added sugar, preservatives or artificial sweeteners.
“Rashtions came from a broader question around food security and how we could better understand and utilise the resources available in our region,” said Rashid Gargash, Founder of Rashtions. “The UAE has a long history of relying on ingredients such as dates and camel milk, and I wanted to explore how these familiar resources could be approached through research and innovation to create something relevant to the way people eat today.”
For Gargash, the journey also highlighted the relationship between food security and innovation. While food security is often discussed in terms of food availability, the wider conversation increasingly encompasses nutrition, sustainable production, local resources and the ability of communities and businesses to adapt to changing food systems.
The UAE has placed food security among its national priorities through its National Food Security Strategy 2051, which includes enhancing local production, enabling sustainable food production through modern technologies and improving nutrition.
Rashtions offers one example of how food innovation can begin with questions around regional resources and develop into a locally produced food product. Its development demonstrates how traditional ingredients can be considered through a contemporary lens, while retaining a connection to the country’s food heritage.
Today, Rashtions is available across the UAE through ADNOC and Emarat service stations, Union Coop, Deliveroo and Noon, as well as directly through the brand’s website.
As World Food Day 2026 turns attention to the role of innovation in nourishing future generations, Gargash’s journey offers a UAE perspective on the conversation: one that began with research into food security and evolved into an exploration of how local ingredients could contribute to modern nutrition.
For more information, visit: https://rashtions.ae/