Omani handmade chocolate brand launched in Qurm 

(MENAFN - Muscat Daily) Omani brand Salma's Chocolates was officially inaugurated by H E Eng Ali bin Masoud bin Ali al Sunaidy, Minister of Commerce and Industry, at The Sultan Center in Qurm on Sunday.

The investment for training staff, procuring equipment, packaging and marketing of the products was done by Omran under its Intajee programme as part of its CSR initiatives.

A venture by Salma and Aysha al Hajri, the factory of Salma's Chocolates is located behind the Zubair Automotive showroom in Azaiba. The handmade chocolates have unusual flavours such as mahoo (a traditional milk and cardamom dessert), Omani halwa, lemon, honey and thyme.

Ingredients for the chocolates are sourced locally. ''We have Omani suppliers from Batinah and Jebel Akhdar and use Omani ingredients such as zatar and lemon,'' said Salma al Hajri, founder and CEO of Salma's Chocolates. ''We hope to launch some new products by Eid al Adha.''

H E Sunaidy expressed appreciation for Omran's support in marketing the product range. ''I hope this will encourage other Omanis to launch similar ventures. I hope private sector companies, especially banks, support people with SMEs and encourage such initiatives.''

''The launch of Salma's Chocolates, is an encouraging start,'' said Omran CEO Eng Wael Ahmed al Law